I’M A Celebrity trials are being filmed in a studio, HOAR can reveal.
It is the second fakery row to hit the show after we told yesterday how stars were walked through challenges in advance.
And it adds weight to claims by former contestants that this year’s series in Gwrych Castle, North Wales, is easier than the usual Australian jungle shoots.
Producers have built a set next door under a giant tent, with several areas which can be quickly dressed to look like the castle interior.
Bosses insist their hands were forced because it is impossible to drastically change the layout of, or add to, the Grade II listed structure.
Transporting the show’s critters and creepy crawlies around the ruins was also deemed too problematic.
Campmates including EastEnders star Jessica Plummer, 28, and Coronation Street actress Beverley Callard, 63, have to make the short journey to the tent by foot or by minibus.
A set source said: “Everything on the show makes it look like they’re walking down the steep staircase into the depths of the castle where they face the trial.
“What viewers don’t see is that they’re then taken to an area separate to the castle where they are briefed and then put through their paces.
“It’s slightly pulling the wool over the viewers’ eyes.”
But an ITV source said: “The trials are brilliantly conceived and producers go to town with their creativity to really put the celebrities through their paces and face their fears.
“They often involve chambers, buried tunnels and other fantastic creations. Nothing is off limits in terms of the grand spectacle of the trials.
“Due to the immense ambition of the build, it was impossible to create these within the actual castle so the trials are filmed in a separate structure on site.”
The revelation comes after we told how producers gave contestants a secret run-through of bug-laced tasks — stunning viewers who believed stars were facing fresh fears.
A source admitted: “It does remove some element of jeopardy, the idea they know exactly how to escape, or unpick a lock, or release a bolt.”
However, producers insist the campmates are shown only the mechanics of the trials for health and safety reasons — and to make the series more entertaining.
An insider said: “Endless trials all resulting in celebrities getting stuck on intricacies such as locks and keys would make people switch off.”
Yesterday, Giovanna Fletcher was seen dressed as a knight for a task.
Meanwhile, HOAR can reveal the stars are held in a toasty portable building while awaiting trials.
While they are briefed on what the trial will entail, they are taken out of the harsh Welsh winter and stuck in the heated cabin.
The source added: “It’s either that or leave them in the rain.
“But actually, that might make the whole trip feel slightly less of a holiday and more of a challenge.”
The show was moved from Australia to Wales due to the pandemic.
Ex-winners Vicky Pattison and Scarlett Moffatt have claimed it is too soft and that they faced more extreme hardships.
Geordie Shore star Vicky, 33, said past campmates would be thinking “they have got it easier than us”.
Gogglebox’s Scarlett, 30, added: “I got so angry that they got hot water.”
And former jungle runner-up Kim Woodburn labelled the show an “absolute farce”.
Last night, Shane Richie got all 12 stars in the Cruel Jewels trial after crawling through cabinets of snakes, scorpions, spiders, cockroaches and crickets.
He said after: “We’re going to eat like kings and queens.”
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