I’m A Celebrity stars risk hypothermia as temperatures will drop to freezing with pouring rain the week of show launch
I’M A CELEBRITY campmates will be greeted by freezing point temperatures for days when they enter the Welsh castle.
The area will also be lashed by torrential rains in the period leading up to the start of the ITV1 show on 15 November.
But then the clouds will depart – leaving the mercury to struggle above zero thanks to the clear skies.
Temperatures for the opening episode will be a maximum of 5C with a minimum of 0C.
The following day the thermometer will again rise to just 5C after being 1C in the morning.
And the cold snap will remain until Thursday, when things will heat up to 11C and on Saturday the campmates will experience a "balmy" 14C, according to long-range forecasts for the area.
Yet hot on its heels there'll be winds of 28mph for the first weekend in North Wales followed by heavy rain for much of the second week.
ITV chiefs have splashed out a fortune on foul-weather gear for this year’s I’m a Celeb campmates – who include Shane Richie and were exclusively revealed by The Sun this week - including thermals and bedding to withstand the freezing temperatures.
They’ve taken expert medical advice on how contestants can avoid frost bite and hypothermia in the howling Welsh winter.
The Sun was first to reveal how ITV bosses have bought top-of-the range outdoor clothing, sleeping bags and even scores of insulating blankets of the type handed out to marathon runners following a race.
This year’s version of the show promises to be no picnic as the celebs huddle in the ruins of a draughty castle close to the North Wales coast.
A telly source said: “The bosses are taking no chances and have bought the best of everything. It is one thing roughing it in the heat of Australia but quite another kettle of fish in the Welsh countryside.
“They’ve taken medical advice on the risks posed by the cold weather and have stocked up on appropriate clothing and bedding.”
TV’s top survivalist Bear Grylls has warned this year's crop of contestants that roughing it in Wales will present the top-rated show's biggest challenge date.
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The ITV reality programme for the first time its history has been forced to switch locations due to the coronavirus pandemic.
It will be filmed at Gwrych Castle near Abergele.
“The bad weather in Wales will be brutal,” said the 46-year-old former SAS serviceman, who's previously run survival academies around Snowdonia.
“You get persistent wind and rain and that makes people cold, fast. Contestants should not underestimate it.”