She is the undisputed queen of reality TV, and now Keira Maguire is lifting the lid on what it’s really like in the depths of the South African jungle for contestants appearing in I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!
From special treatment to secret phone calls, the blonde beauty says there are a lot of hidden activities behind the scenes – and she also has a surprising warning for Gogglebox besties Yvie Jones and Angie Kent.
“As a reality star going in, you are treated differently by the other campmates,” says Maguire, who appeared in the series last year.
“There is a stigma attached to us, like we shouldn’t be there because we are not good enough, but let’s face it, we are all D-graders that’s why we are on the show.”
Here, no-nonsense Maguire lets the cat out of the bag and reveals 10 surprising secrets about what life is like in camp.
#1 Extra food
“As far as meals go in camp, it’s pretty strict, but if you are sent to a challenge, you get
a protein bar before you take part. [The producers] do that so you have enough energy to compete, and that’s a big treat.”
#2 Clothing restrictions
“You are only allowed to take in one luxury item, but what you don’t see on TV is that our personal items are also heavily vetted, too. We are only allowed four pairs of underwear, and even our toothbrushes and skincare had to be biodegradable because of the eco [sewage] systems.”
#3 Bad hygiene
“The showers are absolutely freezing and everyone hates them. Some people actually avoided showering and went for four days without having one. We were doing challenges and it was pretty feral in there and, yes, some people started to stink.”
#4 Phone calls allowed
“If anyone had a situation at home that came up while we were in there, then they were allowed to talk to a producer who would call home for them and relay messages back.”
#5 Smoking is permitted
“We had a couple of smokers in our camp and they were allowed to go into a special area and use a vape. It wasn’t widely spoken about but they would disappear for half an hour and you could smell it when they came back.”
#6 Girls wear makeup
“Both Havana Brown and Simone Holtznagel wore makeup. I guess they got that negotiated into their contract so they always looked good for the cameras, but not everyone thought of that before going in.”
#7 Toilet trouble
“The diet really messes with you, and we had a few people who had trouble going to the toilet. Ash Pollard was so constipated she didn’t poop for two weeks and ended up having to see a doctor about it.”
#8 Special treatment
“There are certainly some names in there treated better than others and that’s usually Channel Ten’s own talent. They really look after them because they have usually put them in there to promote a new show or something.”
#9 Psychology tests
“Each contestant has to undergo a psychological test before you’re selected as a campmate to ensure you’re mentally fit to be in there, and we have access to [the psychologist] 24/7 in camp.”
#10 Celebs are blindfolded
“They are really protective of the location and where the show is filmed. Before you
go in, you are actually led from the hotel to the camp and other places in a blindfold. That’s not for TV drama, they take that
part very seriously and we are not allowed to know enough about the place to recognise it again.”
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