The I’m a Celebrity camp has been dramatically evacuated after a horror storm.
Show bosses had to implement an emergency plan and urgently shelter the celebs amid giant hailstones and lightning.
The Queensland Bureau of Meteorology had earlier issued a warning of what it described as a “very dangerous storm” to hit the area.
It said how the thunderstorm was producing “large to giant hailstones, damaging and destructive winds and heavy rainfall causing flash flooding.”
The campmates were ushered into the Bush Telegraph where they huddled together for an hour while the worst of it passed.
Insiders said the camp was left “drenched” and that filming was delayed by up to three hours. The campmates’ belongings were all soaked, and they spent Monday afternoon trying to use the campfire to dry everything.
A show source said: “Our health and safety weather contingencies kicked in and we evacuated the celebrities immediately to the Bush Telegraph until the storm passed and it was safe to return to camp.”
The evacuation is only done in extreme circumstances, according to sources.
Bosses have highly advanced weather tracking systems where they can monitor storms.
Last year was also affected with the camp being hit by record rainfall and suffering flooding. It was similarly evacuated at one point.
The latest evacuation will undoubtedly hit camp morale.
One insider said: “The Bush Telegraph is tiny but the only place where the campmates can be evacuated too. With all twelve contestants in there, it would have been very, very uncomfortable. Plus they were all drenched. It couldn’t have got any worse.”
The same insider said that the wet conditions will see an influx of LEECHES set to hammer camp mood even more.
The insider said: “It’s going to be very grim indeed. The wet weather always brings out the leeches, plus a whole host of other biting insects too. After what has seemed quite a harmonious camp, we expect it to get a little fraught from now on.”
It’s not known if bosses will air the evacuation scenes.
Last year campmate Melvin Odoom told the Mirror he was on the brink of walking out of the show because of the weather.
He disclosed how he had to be rescued in the middle of the night by a security guard during a storm after crying out for help.
When asked if he considered quitting, he confessed: “Yes, because I found it difficult, and I thought the finish line seemed quite far away.” But he decided to persevere.
He added: “I didn’t want to let my family down. And the most similar process to this that I’ve ever done in my life was Strictly and I was the first person out, and I was aware of that in my head.”
I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here! airs at 9pm on ITV1 and ITVX