I’m A Celebrity… get me two metres out of here! Reality show crew will wear ‘proximity monitors’ so they can keep socially distanced during filming
- I’m A Celebrity crews will be kitted out with social distancing proximity monitors
- The show, fronted by Ant and Dec, is normally filmed in Australian tropical jungle
- But due to the pandemic the setting has been switched to a castle in North Wales
TV crews working on the new series of I’m A Celebrity will be kitted out with ‘proximity monitors’ so they don’t get closer than two metres to each other.
The ITV show, fronted by Ant and Dec, is normally filmed in a tropical jungle in Australia but it has been switched to a castle in Conwy, North Wales, because of the pandemic.
ITV Studios entertainment director Richard Cowles said yesterday: ‘On a Covid level, everyone’s got proximity monitors on them so basically they can’t come within two metres of each other without it buzzing and flashing and reminding them to step away.’
The ITV show, fronted by Ant and Dec (pictured) is normally filmed in a tropical jungle in Australia but it has been switched to a castle in Conwy, North Wales, because of the pandemic
He told a Royal Television Society virtual event: ‘The key thing is we create the safest possible workplace for crew, cast and our hosts.’
The 20th series of the show is set to be screened next month – after Wales emerges from its circuit-breaker lockdown.
Mr Cowles also said she show will be edited in London so that there are less people who could ‘potentially spread Covid’.
He said: ‘It isn’t easy but the good thing about reality shows and shows where you put the cast in a bubble is that you can put them in a space where they can be reasonably sealed from outside interaction.
‘There’s adaptability within the format and as long as you can get the off screen stuff right and keep that Covid safe, there’s opportunity for everyone here.’
He added: ‘In terms of the technology, we’ve for example, with the castle itself, we’ve mapped that completely remotely so we can get all of our camera positions and everything done off-site without having to go there.
‘We have basically created a whole virtual walk through of that castle, so all of the set can be built remotely back here and then transported up there.
‘All the camera positions, the lens length – all of that sort of stuff can be done.
‘We’re even going to have our edits in London to try to reduce the number of people travelling to Wales and to reduce the number of people that could potentially spread Covid.
The 20th series of the show is set to be screened next month – after Wales emerges from its circuit-breaker lockdown. Gwrych Castle is pictured above
‘We couldn’t have done that but fibre technology means that we can send everything back, edit it in London and then send it back again.
‘It’s amazing how technology changes the environment that we work in and what we can do.’
The popular show is set to air next month.
From 6pm on Friday, the whole of Wales will go into a ‘circuit-breaker lockdown’ until Monday 9 November – just a week before I’m A Celeb is expected to air.
ITV bosses remain confident that despite the country going into full lockdown again, the show will go ahead.
An ITV spokesman said: ‘I’m A Celebrity continues to adhere to all relevant guidelines as well as our own strict Covid protocols.’