AJ Pritchard says there WAS heating in the I'm A Celeb castle... Sort of
The heaters were out of view of the cameras
Last updated 9th Dec 2020
Former Strictly Come Dancing professional, AJ Pritchard, has confessed that this year’s I'm A Celebrity 2020, camp had secret heating lamps, which were out of view of the cameras to keep the campmates warm at night.
Following the announcement that this year's series would be taking place at Gwrych Castle in Wales, many viewers were concerned about the freezing cold weather conditions that the celebs would be living in.
After the first few episodes of the show aired viewers began to wonder why campmates were seen walking around the castle just in t-shirts. Fans on Twitter started to question whether or not central heating had been installed into the castle.
An official castle rep responded to these claims on twitter from the official Twitter account for Gwrych Castle, confirming the castle certainly DOES NOT have central heating.
But since leaving the castle, when quizzed by his brother, Love Island star Curtis Pritchard, the former Strictly pro revealed that there was in fact secret heat lamps that would come on at night while the campmates slept.
Speaking on their joint podcast AJ Vs Curtis, AJ told his brother, “OK, so we had heat lamps above, you probably couldn’t see this on camera, but the heat lamps would maybe turn on at about 2am and about maybe 5am to kind of make it feel warm in the sleeping areas.”
Back in the first week of the show, AJ was seen sleeping topless which led to a lot of the speculation around whether the castle had heat or not. AJ confessed that you would initially go to bed freezing, wrapped up in layers of clothing, but would then wake up sweating once the heat had come on.
The professional dancer told his brother “One night I thought I was going to be absolutely freezing and went to bed wearing multiple layers. I had a hot flush at like 4 or 5am and I had to take all my clothes off.”
His brother Curtis was shocked and insisted that the camp would have been more exciting if the celebs were struggling with the cold weather conditions, adding “I think that would have been an extreme situation and let’s be honest, I’m A Celebrity is meant to be an extreme situation.”
AJ, who finished in sixth place on this year's I'm A Celeb, also revealed that when he first arrived in the camp, he thought the conditions were ‘too easy’.
Every winner of I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! through the years 🐜
1. Tony Blackburn
Tony Blackburn was the first celebrity to win the show back in 2002.
2. Phil Tufnell
England cricketer Phil Tufnell won the show with his hilarious personality in 2003.
3. Kerry Katona
Kerry Katona was the first woman to win the show in 2004.
4. Joe Pasquale
Joe Pasquale won the show when it returned later in the year of 2004.
5. Carol Thatcher
Journalist Carol Thatcher won the show in 2005 when she beat soap stars Sheree Murphy and Sid Owen.
6. Matt Willis
Busted member Matt Willis was a popular winner in 2006.
7. Christopher Biggins
Lovable Biggins shared the jungle with the likes of Katie Hopkins and Janice Dickinson and went on to win the show in 2007.
8. Joe Swash
Cheeky chap Joe Swash swapped EastEnders for the jungle and won the show in 2008.
9. Gino D'Acampo
The nation fell in love with Gino in 2009.
10. Stacey Solomon
After showing off her bubbly personality on The X Factor, Stacey Solomon entered the jungle and won the show in 2010.
11. Dougie Poynter
McFly guitarist Dougie Poynter was crowned King of the Jungle ahead of TOWIE's Mark Wright in 2011.
12. Charlie Brooks
EastEnders actress Charlie Brooks couldn't believe it when Ant and Dec announced her as the winner in 2012.
13. Kian Egan
After 22 days in the jungle, Westlife star Kian Egan was crowned the King in 2013.
14. Carl 'Foggy' Fogarty
Retired world super bike racer Carl 'Foggy' Fogarty won over the viewing public in 2014.
15. Vicky Pattison
Vicky Pattison showed a different side to her usual Geordie Shore antics, winning over the public and being crowned Queen of the Jungle.
16. Scarlett Moffatt
Former Gogglebox star Scarlett Moffatt was crowned Queen of the Jungle after winning the show in 2016.
17. Georgia 'Toff' Toffolo
Made In Chelsea star Georgia 'Toff' Toffolo won the show in 2017 after beating Jamie Lomas.
18. Harry Redknapp
Former football manager Harry Redknapp is the current King of the Jungle after beating Emily Atack in 2018.
19. Jacqueline Jossa
Despite the likes of Ian Wright and Caitlyn Jenner signing up for the 2019 series, it was former EastEnders actress Jac Jossa who was crowned Queen of the Jungle, beating Coronation Street's Andy Whyment in the final.
20. Giovanna Fletcher
Podcaster Giovanna Fletcher became the first ever Queen of the Castle in 2020, going up against the likes of Shane Richie, Vernon Kay and Mo Farah!
21. Danny Miller
Emmerdale actor Danny Miller became the first ever KING of the Castle in 2021 after a hectic series. He went up against the likes of David Ginola, Simon Gregson and Frankie Bridge!
22. Jill Scott MBE
Former England footballer Jill Scott MBE topped her amazing year off by being crowned the Queen of the Jungle in November 2022. Jill won the show ahead of Owen Warner and Matt Hancock.
23. Sam Thompson
Radio presenter and TV personality Sam Thompson took the crown in 2023, winning the public's hearts and votes ahead of Tony Bellew and Nigel Farage.
24. Danny Jones
Following the epic Busted vs McFly tour in 2024, the legendary Danny Jones also found time to be crowned the King of The Jungle! Danny won the 24th series, after receiving more votes than his fellow campmate finalists Coleen Rooney and Reverend Richard Coles.
A special episode of I'm A Celebrity...A Castle Story is on ITV this Saturday (13th December) at 8pm.
The hour long show will give us a sneak peak in to what the celebs got up to after leaving the castle, and we may even get some more answers to heating gate!
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