New season of I’m a Celebrity WILL go ahead in 2021 with surprising changes

With travel restrictions caused by the COVID-19 outbreak in place, it seems highly unlikely that a plane full of celebrities can jet off to the South African jungle in January.

And on Monday, New Idea magazine reported that the seventh season of I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! will still go ahead and producers are looking at a filming location very close to home.

‘They have been looking for ways to trim the budget and now with the coronavirus issue, this will allow them to film locally and save a fortune,’ a source told the publication.

 They added: ‘It’s a very big crew and the stars are all flown business class’.

Producers from Channel 10 are said to be negotiating to use the custom-built site in Australia where the UK version of the hit franchise is filmed.

The camp is located between Byron Bay and the Gold Coast along the NSW and QLD borders.

Following the success of MasterChef Back to Win, the network is also said to be keen to film an All Stars version.

New Idea reports that past favourites, including former winner Richard Reid, Australia’s stage and screen darling Rhonda Burchmore, MKR star Ash pollard and TV host Tom Williams have all been approached.

Meanwhile, I’m A Celebrity… isn’t the only Channel 10 program to have been impacted due to the pandemic.

The Amazing Race was initially scaled down to a domestic version, but with state borders closing the entire project is now in limbo.

MasterChef’s ‘pimp my noodle’ cooking challenge was also nearly ruined by the panic buying frenzy which stripped Australian shelves bare in March.

After fans took to Twitter to complain that Indomie Mi Goreng wasn’t included in the instant noodle-cooking challenge, Judge Melissa Leong quickly explained.

 ‘Before anyone asks, there are no IndoMie Mi Goreng noodles on the table because: a) it was the very early stages of COVID and y’all bulk bought them out of circulation,’ she wrote on Twitter.

Production of the Bachelor was halted in late March and the program is said to be focusing on virtual dates.

Brisbane radio presenter Matty Acton said that one of his friends had caught his neighbour on a group date with Locky and a few other women last month.

The virtual date was supposedly taking place over Zoom, a video conferencing program that has surged in popularity during the COVID-19 crisis.

Matty explained on Hit 105’s Stav, Abby and Matt that his friend had been working from home when he looked out his window and noticed the bizarre sight.

‘[My friend said that] there was, on a picnic rug, a girl on a laptop with a TV crew. They’re filming, and she was on a date with The Bachelor,’ he explained.