The show hasn’t even started and already it seems stars may be in for the most annoying season of I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! yet.
Producers have revealed that a plague of ticks have infested the jungle camp, and the situation is so bad that one crew member has already been sent home.
In news that does not bode well for the celebrities, show medic Bob McCarron described the insects as “the most annoying thing on site this year”.
“They’re like a pin dot on your skin but the swelling they cause is as big as an apple.
“So far we have had 30 crew people affected. I have just met all the celebrities and told them ‘Half of you will be bitten by ticks.’ They didn’t like that.
“I have just sent a crew member home for two days. He has a swelling half the size of an ostrich egg on the back of his head.
“They can crawl in trousers and most end up in the groin. They go everywhere but like those areas in particular. Even with trousers on they can crawl in.
“Most people feel itchy but have a look and can’t see anything.
“They are so tiny we have a special pen like you use for skin cancers to freeze it and kill it to get it out. They’re hard to see. It takes about two days to get better.
“We have had crew with tick fever too. It has been a real nuisance.
“You can end up with red dots from head to foot and one guy had to have a week off work.”
In more bad news for this year’s celebs, McCarron added that it is the crew’s “biggest year for snakes”.
“They are all mating at the moment.
“We found a venomous snake in camp this week. It was a small eyed snake. Black with a red belly.
“And we found a venomous snake in one of the camera hides which was a rough-scaled and can kill you.”
I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! returns for a 14th season this weekend, with celebs including Tinchy Stryder, Melanie Sykes, Jimmy Bullard and Kendra Wilkinson set to enter the jungle and presenters Ant and Dec again at the helm.
