Wigan firm reveals its key role in new series of I'm A Celebrity

This year’s series of I’m A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! is currently being filmed in a castle in North Wales - very different to its usual setting in the Australian jungle.

While Gwrych Castle provides a dramatic backdrop, Sir Mo Farah, Shane Richie and the other stars will not be basking in the sunshine and hot temperatures enjoyed by previous contestants.

But keeping on top of plumbing in the castle will be a team from central heating firm Plum-UK, based in Pimbo and set up by Duane Keane, from Orrell, and his brother Dale.

Duane said: “We are doing all the plumbing works up there and the prop work.

“I got a phone call from someone. I thought it was a joke at first but it turned out it wasn’t.”

The family-run business was set up four years ago and specialises in central heating, gas and oil boilers, air source heat pumps and commercial builds.

After the mysterious phone call asking for quotes for plumbing work on an unnamed TV show, a deal was eventually done.

The team spent three weeks working at the castle to make sure everything was ready for the show and are now on standby in case they are needed while the series runs for the next three weeks.

So while viewers will be seeing how the celebrities cope with the weather and terrifying challenges, Duane and his colleagues will be keeping a close eye on the plumbing.

Their work included props such as installing a watering can shower, pumps to the shower and water barrels.

Duane, 29, said: “Anything that involves water down there, we did.

“It was completely out of our comfort zone, something we have never done before.”

He hopes the firm will be able to take on more TV work once the current project has finished.

The new series of I’m A Celebrity launched on Sunday to an average of 10.9 million viewers, drawing the biggest audience for the show since the 2018 final, ITV has said.

The first episode saw the stars confront cockroaches, crickets, mealworms and maggots.

It showed the bugs raining down on the celebrities while they completed a challenge to secure meals for the camp.

The contestants were placed into separate cages as they had to transfer stars from one side of the group to the other while they were surrounded by the insects.

They were tasked with passing 10 stars from one side to the other and managed to succeed with seven of them.

TV presenter Vernon Kay, athlete Sir Mo Farah, journalist Victoria Derbyshire and actor Shane Richie are among this year’s celebrities.

I’m A Celebrity continues on weeknights and Sundays at 9pm on ITV.

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