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25th Nov 2020

Police investigating I’m A Celeb over fears non-native creatures are escaping

Cassie Stokes

“We don’t have those cockroaches here in the UK and we certainly don’t have them in north Wales.”

Concerns have been raised by people who have noticed that the creatures involved in this year’s I’m A Celeb are not native to Wales.

The Guardian reports that Welsh police are investigating the series after complaints were made about the animals being used for trials in the castle.

Some of the trials have featured what look like cockroaches and other types of bugs being thrown on the contestants – and who knows where they’re going to next because there’s not a chance they’re catching them all.

piers morgan

Those who made complaints are afraid that the bugs will affect the wildlife around Gwrych Castle in North Wales.

TV presenter and naturalist Iolo Williams made a complaint after seeing one of the trials, calling the use of non-native species “madness.”

“I’m not sure which species they’re releasing, but I can tell you they’re not native,” he said. “We don’t have those cockroaches here in the UK and we certainly don’t have them in north Wales.”

Williams said there’s no way that that all of the creatures are caught and put back where they came from. “There are going to be cockroaches in every nook and cranny along their bodies, you’re going to tell me that every single one of those is found immediately? Of course it’s not,” he said.

ITV have since said that all of the insects used are non-invasive, but didn’t go in to detail about which ones they use on the show.

“They are only ever released in a contained area and collected immediately after filming,” they said. “They are all purchased commercially within the UK and are normally bred as animal food.”

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I'm A Celeb