Welsh castle’s I’m a Celeb props being sold off
Gwych Castle Trust chairman Mark Baker explains what items are up for sale
Stars who are in awkward situations, such as being covered in rats or insects, scream the famous line “I’m a celebrity, get me out of here”, on the hit ITV show.
But it is props not participants that bosses at one of the show’s host venues are keen to get out of the building to raise funds for what is one of Wales’ most at-risk structures.
Hosted by duo Ant and Dec, the show sees celebrities jetted out to Australia to survive in the jungle, but during the Covid pandemic in 2020 and 2021, it was filmed at Gwrych Castle, near Abergele, in Conwy.
Items were left behind when it returned down under and, to help with restoration work, two shipping containers full of props and costumes, plus items such as a phone box, thrones, and a space ship, are being sold off.
In 2023, the preservation trust for Gwrych Castle was given £2.2m for repairs because its main 19th century building was in danger of collapse.
The trust chairman Mark Baker said the I’m a Celebrity link-up tied in to attempts to save it.
“One of the parts of the deal [to host the show] was that they would do significant repairs to the castle, which suited them but it also suited us,” he recalled.
“So they wanted all the celebs to walk around without hard hats on.
“So they spent about a million doing all the wall tops. But this had been a ruin since the mid-1990s, so it was a good investment for us.”
Gwrych Castle Trust
Items include a cardboard cut-out of hosts Ant and Dec, and the phone box that celebrities would use to answer a question to win a prize
A total of £3m has now been raised in grant funding, and in the new year, work will begin to restore the floors and roof to the 75% of the castle that is mostly derelict.
When that is complete, work will focus on restoring the interior.
Items being sold off to raise funds include a prop of a space ship, which was used in a trial where that year’s John Lewis Christmas advert was recreated.
There is also a telephone box, used by celebrities to answer questions in an attempt to win prizes.
Gwrych Castle Trust
A spaceship crash lands on earth in the 2021 John Lewis Christmas advert, which had the song Together In Electric Dreams sung by Lola Young – a replica of the spaceship was used in the show
“The telephone box has been bought by someone locally, so it’s going to stay in the local area,” added Mr Baker.
“And I think it’s quite nice that these objects have another life.
“The phone box sold for around £1,500, and the spaceship reached about £500.”
Two thrones also used for props are up for sale.
Gwrych Castle Trust
Mr Baker wants to restore all of the castle – currently only the chapel is how it looked 100 years ago
Mr Baker said the series being at the castle is an “integral part of the history of north Wales during the pandemic”, and some items will be retained to go on display.
But currently, only one room – what was once Gwrych’s chapel – has been returned to the way it looked when Winifred, Countess of Dundonald, lived at the castellated mansion more than 100 years ago.
Most of the castle, which is Grade-I listed, dates from 1812 and 1822, when it was built to replicate the style of medieval castles.
It is estimated it will take at least another decade to complete the restoration work.
