get them outta here!
I’m A Celebrity 2020 under threat as Wales is hit by new lockdown rules that ban group gatherings and ‘bubbles’
I'M A Celebrity is under threat as Wales has been hit by new lockdown rules.
The show is due to to start filming at Gwrych Castle in Conwy in the next few weeks - but the county is under new restrictions on social bubbles and meeting indoors.
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The new guidance for Conwy has been posted online by the Welsh government and states "people will no longer be able to form, or be in, an extended household (sometimes called a bubble)".
It adds that "meeting indoors with anyone who is not part of your household (people you live with) is not allowed at the moment".
Meeting indoors can now only go ahead with a "good reason" for example "providing care to a vulnerable person".
Most devastatingly for the show's production team "people will not be allowed to enter or leave the Conwy County Borough area without a reasonable excuse".
An ITV spokesman told The Sun Online: "I'm A Celebrity continues to adhere to all relevant guidelines as well as our own strict Covid protocols."
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Even if the cast and crew do manage to enter the castle's borough, the ban on bubbles will make it difficult for this year's stars to be allowed to film together - and the prevention of indoor mingling could force the celebs outside in the harsh British winter.
ITV bosses splashed out more than £1million to hire Gwrych Castle for six weeks after the ongoing coronavirus pandemic ruled out the show's usual setting in the Australian jungle.
The Sun revealed that producers have broken the bank to transform the derelict venue into a TV set.
Big money has been shelled out to make the early 19th-century building safe, with the installation of electrics and hundreds of yards of pipes for running water.
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And in a first for the popular reality show, the stars were set to sleep under a roof to protect them from the cold weather.
However, the new rules may leave bosses with no choice but to find somewhere else - and with local lockdowns ever-changing it could be impossible to plan anything too far in advance.
Still, ITV have managed to overcome coronavirus-related obstacles in the past, including resuming filming on both Coronation Street and Emmerdale by making the sets COVID-safe.
It is even possible that lockdown regulations in Conwy will have eased by the time filming starts, with I'm A Celeb usually kicking off in November for three weeks.
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Earlier this month it was revealed that hosts Ant and Dec had fought for I'm A Celeb to be moved to north-east England when they were first told Australia is not an option.
The Geordie duo were desperate to set up camp near their hometown of Newcastle upon Tyne when the ITV show was moved to the UK - but lost out to Wales.
Ant and Dec, both 44, were raised in Tyne and Wear and hoped their status as the show's long-running hosts would give them sway in saying where it was filmed.
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The friends have lived in London for over 20 years and dished they'd "pitched a lot of castles" including Lindisfarne Castle nestled off the north-east coast on Holy Island.
Another regal location put forward was Warkworth Castle - just 29 miles from their hometown.
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The Sun Online has contacted ITV for comment.
Ant and Dec ‘fought to set I’m A Celeb in north-east England’ when show moved to the UK - but lost out to Wales
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