Antenna moves into I’m a Celeb hub

ITV’s I’m a Celebrity moved from Australia to Wales last year

Greek broadcaster Antenna has followed UK counterpart ITV’s lead by commissioning a more pandemic-friendly version of I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!, set in a castle rather than a jungle.

The show, which will air on Antenna’s ANT1 channel next year, will take place in a Polish castle that distributor ITV Studios (ITVS) has set up as a hub for international adaptations of the format. Greek prodco Silverline Media Productions will make the series.

The Greek version of the format, in which celebrities live together and face a range of gruelling and grisly challenges, is based on the UK series that has aired every year since 2002. Usually set in the Australian jungle, the ITV edition was moved to a castle in Wales last year because of the pandemic.

Maarten Meijs, president of global entertainment at ITVS, said: “The castle version of I’m a Celebrity in Wales was the biggest show of 2020, boasting huge viewership for its first edition filmed in the UK. The series has served as an inspiration for our international team as well as our clients. On the back of this success, we have sourced an alternative castle location which we have found in Poland.

“The hub offers a complete package for broadcasters around the world to produce their own version, within reach of most budgets: just fly in, plug and play. Our clients benefit from the infrastructure, learnings and experiences we already have. The game playbook is ready. We are thrilled to have Greece as the first country to set up camp in the castle in Poland.”