TV show gets rival in Shellebrity

The stars of I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here! are about to face rivalry from ten Giant African Land Snails – the contestants in a new reality TV show.

I’m a Shellebrity…Keep Me in Here! begins a day after the likes of Natalie Appleton and Paul Burrell are first seen in the jungle.

But TV bosses hope that viewers will be more interested in the antics of ten dandelion-munching creatures than their celebrity counterparts.

The snails have been specially bred for the live series, which begins tonight on comedy channel UKTV G2.

Every night, viewers will be asked to vote off one snail, which they promise will take part in exciting daily tasks, such as 100mm marathons.

Instead of the promise of reviving their careers, the ten snails compete to win a “luxury jungle-themed home complete with under-floor heating, a personal hammock and walkways”.

TV producers say that each of the snails, which can live up to the age of 10 and are hermaphrodites, has its own personality.

They breed easily and promise steamy jungle action – more exciting than Jordan and Peter Andre’s romance.

The one-year-old snails are being filmed in a converted fish tank which has been decked out to mirror the jungle camp in Australia. It has hammocks, ramps and bridges.

Producers have drafted in exotic pet consultant Mark Amey, who worked on the first two series of I’m A Celebrity… to oversee the show.

He said: “The snails have individual personalities. Some are very active characters who speed around the place, while others are slower and content just to have a munch on cucumber.

“They also grow very fast and viewers will probably see them change shape. At the moment they are only two inches long but can grow to as large as 15 inches.”

He added: “I’ve made sure that the snails are in the right environment, that the humidity and temperature is good for them and that they’ve got a constant supply of fresh food.

“Like any juvenile, they have huge appetites. They’re having a life of luxury in there. They get fed as much as they like.”

He promised interesting viewing: “They’re hermaphrodites so they’re very prolific.

“Some of them can be more interesting than celebrities and they’re certainly more adapted to jungle life.”

The snails have been named after well-known faces in the world of showbusiness. Carol Slimey, Snail Porter and Slime-on Cowell are some of the stars of the show.

A UKTV spokesman said: “Over the course of the coming fortnight there will be two very different groups of pond life coming under the TV microscope but I know which one I’ll be watching.

“The channel thought the time was right for a reality show that captured these wonderful creatures in all their glory.

“People are always complaining about reality shows being slow-moving so we thought: ‘Why not?'"

He said: “Here the snails are the stars of the show rather than on the menu. All our snails are fresh faces who have been chosen for their unique personalities.”

Evictions will be broadcast daily on UKTV G2 at 8.35pm and fans can also see the show online on uktv.co.uk. The winner will be announced on December 2.

The contestants:

:: Slime-on Cowell

:: Carol Slimey

:: Snail Porter

:: Helen Baxensnail

:: Snailey Thompson

:: Jimmy Snail

:: Slugless Hurd

:: Snail Winton

:: Mi-Shell Collins

:: Slicky Gervais