I'm a Celebrity may be held in Scotland instead of Australia this year due to coronavirus

15 July 2020, 10:47

Kate Garraway leaves the Jungle and sees her best bits

ITV bosses are reportedly working on a “reserve” plan to relocate this year’s I’m a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here to the UK if Australia’s coronavirus cases continue to rise.

The 20th series is still scheduled to go ahead in the autumn as usual, but channel heads are looking into alternative venues in the UK, according to the Mirror.

“Having I’m a Celebrity for three weeks in November is seen as a huge priority," said an ITV source.

"Everyone hopes to get back to Australia but over there they are struggling massively with flare-ups resulting in second lock-downs. It simply may not be possible because of safety."

They added: “A decision needs to be made next month – in the meantime, the team is looking at stately homes, castles, mansions in remote areas of Scotland and England to see if we could stage it here.

"A dark, cold and spooky version of the show would be good fun – it would certainly be different.”

ITV are hoping that if the long-running show does move to the UK for a one-off year, it will at least make it a memorable series, similar to the increase in ratings when Holly Willoughby stepped in for Ant McPartlin in 2018.

Last year, I'm a Celeb still brought in an average of 10 million viewers, with actress Jacqueline Jossa winning and Smooth's Kate Garraway coming fourth.