A severe thunderstorm is said to have hit the I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! jungle just days before the new series begins.
Nigel Farage was spotted at Heathrow airport heading to Australia on Saturday, appearing to confirm his appearance on the show.
The unexpected New South Wales weather left workers desperately scrambling to get the site ready Nigel, 59, and the other celebrities.
According to The Sun, construction had no choice but to stop at some points, because the heavy rain and strong wind made it impossible.
The storm could not have come at a worse time as there is still so much to do before I’m A Celeb… returns to our screens on Sunday, 19th October.
Bad weather: Nigel Farage was spotted at the airport on Saturday ahead of I’m A Celebrity… but chaos at the Australian camp has ensued due to a huge thunderstorm
Crisis: The unexpected New South Wales weather left workers desperately scrambling to get the site ready Nigel, 59, and the other celebrities
Workers still need to put in place the new trial areas which will include an Aztec temple and an outdoor pool with six sunken cages.
The Bureau of Meteorology were forced to issue a warning for Murwillumbah, the town in New South Wales where the ITV camp is based.
A source said: ‘Every minute counts at this stage of production, so even an hour stolen from the schedule is frustrating.
‘The rain and wind has been strong – definitely not what people think of for the Gold Coast.’
On the weather, a show source said: ‘The production team are the best in the business and are used to working in all weather conditions.
‘There’s contingencies in place for all weather scenarios. Thankfully the weather forecast is looking dry and hot for the celebrities’ arrivals.’
This poor weather is reminiscent of last year when bosses had no choice but to close the camp for a whole day.
Nigel was the first camper seen leaving the country, and he wore a pink jacket with a red Remembrance Day poppy.
Bad habit: Like Nigel, Chris Moyles, who appeared on I’m A Celebrity in 2022, is also a heavy smoker which caused issues due to I’m A Celeb…’s smoking ban
The politician took a long drag of a cigarette, ahead of his flight which will take the best part of a day.
Nigel’s smoking habit almost caused him to withdraw from the show, when ITV bosses told him there was no smoking allowed at the camp.
ITV bosses were said to be in crisis talks with Nigel’s team after he raised concerns about the show’s cigarette ban.
In an attempt to keep Nigel interested, producers were event reportedly considering changing this rule for him, the same conversation they had with Chris Moyles on last year’s series.
A spokesperson for ITV told Express.co.uk in 2018: ‘Celebrities who smoke are allowed to smoke in camp.
‘They have to smoke near the campfire and then put stubs out in the fire.’
Whether this is still the case remains to be confirmed, but it is clear that the bosses and Nigel have struck a deal.
They will be keen to keep Nigel happy as they are anticipating a bust-up between him and another campmate.
The campmate in question wrote several disparaging tweets about Nigel, calling him ‘irrelevant and useless’.
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