I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here ‘s 2020 home at Gwrych Castle is facing jeopardy as its owners struggle to keep up with the cost of renovating the ruins.
Despite being branded a “treasured piece of Welsh heritage,” the castle is at risk of falling into further disarray unless something is done.
Reports claimed that ITV bosses splashed out £300,000 to hire the castle for the series, but even with the hefty price tag, Gwrych Castle has confirmed they are still short of funds to secure its future.
Confirming they are now turning to crowdfunding to help, a post on Gwrych Castle’s official Facebook page reads: “A huge thank you to I’m A Celebrity, Ant & Dec and everybody else who helped to make this happen!
Gwrych Castle is in major need of funding despite the I’m A Celeb takeover (Image: Kieron McCarron/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)
“It’s been a tough year for all but this has brought a huge boost to the economy and has cheered up the nation.
“Our goal now is to raise funds for services to secure the future of Gwrych Castle.”
The post included a direct link to a GoFundMe page which asks for donations, big or small, to help bring the castle back to life.
The site added: “We need your help to enable us to finally blow out the candles and bring light back to Gwrych Castle for the first time since the 1980s! Pledge £5, or more!
Gwrych Castle now has a GoFund me page to help restoration (Image: Getty Images)
“Join us in making a difference to a treasured piece of Welsh heritage, where your donation will help us to get mains water and power back to the site.
“The welcomed addition of I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here has helped to carry out urgent works.
“However, they will be using generators and water tanks. For the castle to move forward long term, we need to connect to main supplies once again.”
This year’s I’m A Celeb regularly pulled in higher ratings than it’s 2019 counterpart in the Aussie jungle.
Admitting he’s not ruled out using the Welsh castle in a future series, ITV boss Richard Cowles said: “Australia has been I’m A Celebrity’s natural home and the Welsh version was born out of necessity rather than choice, but we’ve learned a lot and so maybe there is a UK incarnation of the show.
“We will look at what being in Wales means for the format going forward. Is it something we would want to do again, or do we want to return to Australia?”
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
