EXCLUSIVE: Associate Editor Tom Bryant is subjected to a brand new trial which is set to be undertaken by the I’m a Celebrity stars this series
It’s been approximately six hours since I gulped down a blended concoction of duck tongue and feet, or a “quacktail”, as the trial producer cheerfully informed me.
And apologies if this is too much information, but I can still feel it almost quacking away in the pit of my stomach.
Of course, as a showbiz journalist, one has to embrace certain less glamorous elements of the job. And it was my duty to try out one of I’m A Celebrity’s newest Bushtucker Trials, aptly named Jungle News Live.
The trial involved reading an autocue from an entertainment news desk while increasingly disgusting delicacies were placed in front of me.
After my ducky starter, it was time for a “heart-bleet” – effectively a (nice) muffin topped with a decidedly less appetising hunk of goat’s heart. By this stage, I had attracted an audience of trial producers, all seemingly delighted at the prospect of witnessing my abject agony.
It actually wasn’t too bad at first. Think a fatty, dry, slightly gristly piece of beef. But then came the chewing. And more chewing. And still more chewing.
The wretched thing simply refused to break down. Minutes passed, my jaw ached and the audience looked increasingly entertained.
Finally, mercifully, it was dispatched, and I collected my second star. That was one more than my two rival showbiz colleagues managed, both having been defeated by the quacktail.
So the bragging rights, at least, were all mine. Let’s see how the celebrities get on when it’s their turn.
Inside the new I’m A Celeb camp
I’m A Celebrity‘s bosses invited Ade Adepitan into the Australian jungle several months ago to help make a series of changes to the camp, we can reveal.
Producers spent a full day with the wheelchair basketball star and TV presenter earlier this year, testing how he would cope with the notoriously difficult terrain and working out what adaptations would be needed.
The result is a specially modified camp, with widened paths, strengthened handrails, wheelchair parking spaces, crutch holders and even a stairlift for the jungle shower. Execs have confirmed that Ade will also be able to tackle the majority of this year’s approximately 23 Bushtucker Trials – including the famous Celebrity Cyclone.
One of the executive producers told us: “All I will say is that if he makes it that far…he will be doing the Celebrity Cyclone. Without giving anything away, from the moment you see him on screen, you will be impressed.”
The preparations began when producers decided they wanted Ade in this year’s line-up and invited him Down Under for a recce, in February.
He was kept deliberately in the dark about the trials, or anything that has been planned for this series. Instead, execs wanted to learn more about his needs.
The exec said: “The camp didn’t look anything like it does now…nothing was given away. He came to almost educate us about what his needs were to be able to live in this camp.
“It was more about understanding what he could do, what he needed and what we could do to adapt to make him more comfortable in camp.” Ade, who contracted polio as a baby, uses both a wheelchair and crutches.
We were given a tour of the modified camp, where the changes have been carefully incorporated so as not to stand out.
Paths have been widened to accommodate Ade’s wheelchair, while steps have been altered to make it easier for him to move between the camp’s different levels on crutches.
Special parking spaces have been created so he can leave his wheelchair and switch to crutches whenever he wishes.
I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here! returns to ITV1 and ITVX at 9pm on Monday.
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