Eight celebs brave jungle for TV show

Eight famous faces were braving the perils of the jungle today in the new celebrity version of Survivor.

I’m A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! is forcing them to swap their lavish lifestyles for a gruelling ordeal in the Australian outback.

The eight contestants are socialite Tara Palmer-Tomkinson, veteran DJ Tony Blackburn, ex-boxer Nigel Benn, spoon-bender Uri Geller, singer Darren Day, comedian Rhona Cameron, model Nell McAndrew and Christine Hamilton, wife of the disgraced former Tory minister Neil.

They will be cut off from the outside world for a fortnight with only basic rations of rice and water.

The show is set in one of the world’s most inhospitable environments in Northern Queensland where temperatures can reach a sweltering 37C.

It is home to deadly spiders the size of dinner plates and over 35 species of snake, including three-metre long pythons.

Viewers of the ITV show will get to decide the fate of the eight C-list stars, from whether or not they eat to how long they stay on the show.

They can phone in to single out one of the celebrities to carry out a task which determines whether the group eats or goes hungry.

In the second week of the show, hosted by Ant and Dec, viewers vote for which celebrity they want to evict until one persons is left the winner.

Palmer-Tomkinson has consulted hypnotist Paul McKenna in a bid to overcome her fear of snakes.

The former It girl believes her life as a shopaholic socialite has equipped her with the necessary skills to survive in the jungle.

“I’m very resourceful and I don’t give up - if I can’t find something in one shop I’ll go to Paris, Milan or New York until I find it,” she explained.

Benn has shaved off his dreadlocks in preparation for the trip because he is petrified of insects living in them.

Hamilton has revealed her main concern is spending so much time apart from her husband, while McAndrew - who was the model for Tomb Raider’s Lara Croft - has promised to wear only skimpy outfits during her stay in the jungle.

The eight will be filmed 24 hours a day and there will be live nightly broadcasts on ITV1 for two weeks, with extra footage on ITV2.

All money raised from the phone lines will go to charity.

:: Bookies Coral make model Nell McAndrew the 11-4 favourite. Veteran DJ Tony Blackburn is 7-2 second favourite, with former boxing champ Nigel Benn a 4-1 shot. “The chosen celebrities look sure to both entertain and annoy the viewers and we are expecting a lively betting heat,” said Coral’s David Stevens.