AJ Pritchard has revealed that the I'm A Celebrity camp was kitted out with secret heaters to keep campmates warm at night in the Welsh countryside.
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The former Strictly Come Dancing dancer made the shocking revelation to his brother on their podcast AJ vs Curtis, admitting that while campmates used thermals to keep themselves warm, ITV bosses turned to heat lamps at night when temperatures dropped.
When asked about the rumours that Gwrych Castle had been equipped with some sort of central heating system for the contestants, AJ confessed: "Okay, so we had heat lamps above, and you probably couldn't see this on camera, but the heat lamps would maybe turn on at about two am and about five am to kind of make it feel warm in the sleeping areas."
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The Strictly pro added that he often went to sleep wearing multiple layers of clothing because of the chilly temperatures in camp, only to find himself undressing when the heating lamps — which were tactically hidden from cameras — turned on.
"One night I went to bed thinking, 'Oh My God I'm going to be absolutely freezing', so I put on a million layers. I had a hot flush at like four or five am and I had to take all of my clothes off," he joked.
His brother Curtis seemed shocked to learn viewers at home had been duped. "You had heat lamps? What is this? I don't think they should have put heat lamps in there," he said.
© Photo: Getty ImagesAJ revealed the major I'm A Celebrity secret to his brother Curtis on their podcast
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The former Love Islander then added: "I think you would have got a lot more – I don't want to say drama – but a lot more excitement from the fact that you guys would have been struggling with the warmth and everything."
AJ, who placed sixth in the competition, has previously spoken out about some of the more difficult aspects of camp life, specifically the tense moments that arose between him and semi-finalist Shane Richie.
© Photo: RexAJ and Shane had the occasional clash in camp
When quizzed by Ant and Dec about disagreements the two celebrities had over cleaning, AJ said: "If you're going to do a job, do it properly. Hygiene, yeah? Come on!"
He continued: "I prefer to be doing something, keep myself busy because as soon as you let the dam go, the emotions flood back in and you kinda realise that home is still there."
Despite the occasional tense moment, AJ did admit that, in general, the camp got on like a house on fire. "I think the thing is resolving problems rather than letting them fester," he told the hosts. "Shane was really ill sometimes and we would go through different journeys each day, we'd have highs, lows and I think everybody helped everybody. There's no negativity."
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