I'm A Celebrity: Do the contestants rehearse Bushtucker trials?

The Bar-Baric challenge saw the female celebrities having to negotiate a series of padlocks

After reading some recent news reports, you might think ITV should change the name of its hugely popular series to I'm A Celebrity, Let Me Practise This Trial Before We Start Filming.

A story in The Sun suggested the campmates (castlemates?) are allowed to rehearse their Bushtucker trials before having to do them on camera.

This understandably sparked questions from viewers, as well as some previous contestants on the show, who said the same luxury was not extended to them during their time in camp.

So what's the truth? As is often the case, the explanation lies somewhere in the middle.

How do these 'rehearsals' work?

"Con of the Castle" was The Sun's rather amusing front-page headline when the newspaper broke this story on Tuesday.

The paper reported celebrities spend time learning about the trial before the cameras start rolling. The story was careful to point out, however, that these are not full-blown run-throughs as you might imagine them.

For example, the celebrities do not have cockroaches and fish guts dropped on them during rehearsals the way they do in the real thing. Instead, a brief reconnaissance gives the celebrities a chance to get to grips with the props and learn about the mechanics of a trial.

Often, the contestants need to know how certain tools and items work before they can use them. Think of the female contestants' recent Bar-Baric trial involving a complicated sequence of padlocks and keys. Likewise, Sir Mo Farah's attempts to access a series of chambers in Fort Locks. Jordan North's Trapped Door challenge saw him lie flat on a cart and pull himself along a tunnel using a rope.

All of these trials require the celebrities to understand the materials they're going to be working with before they actually attempt them. A technical examination gives them a chance to get their bearings.

An insider on the show pointed out: "Endless trials all resulting in celebrities getting stuck on intricacies such as locks and keys would make [viewers] switch off. They don't get a warm-up, per se, but are told and shown what they need to do to wriggle out of specific parts of trials.

"They are told what the rules are, what to expect, and ultimately how to beat it. Viewers would much rather see contestants succeeding than failing on a technicality."

In a statement to BBC News, a spokesman for I'm A Celebrity added: "Contestants are told the instructions of a trial and producers ensure that they understand what is required of them in line with our health and safety procedures. Any suggestion of run-throughs or practising is incorrect."

However, The Sun also spoke to Kim Woodburn, a previous contestant on the show. She was shocked by the story about rehearsals, telling the paper: "This isn't the jungle - it's an absolute farce. It's a cheat. I am truly appalled."

This reaction suggests celebrities haven't always had the option of running through the trial beforehand. But Woodburn took part in the 2009 series, quite some time ago, so it's likely protocols have changed over the last decade.

It's also worth noting this year's series is in a new location with a new format for the trials, which brings us to the second question:

Why is this series so dark (literally)?

It probably hasn't escaped your notice that this year's series is taking place in a Welsh castle rather than an Australian jungle.

It also probably hasn't escaped your notice that all the trials so far have taken place indoors and in darkness.

But why is that the case? It may not be Australia, but even in the winter months Wales still gets sunlight, right?

Well, here's how it works. Ant and Dec gather the celebrities together to announce who the unlucky celebrity is that the public have voted to do the next trial. This is normally done live at the end of the episode.

But the celebrities barely have any time to be scared, as they're whisked off to do the trial almost immediately.

This year, the chosen campmates stay up late at night, after the show has come off air, in order to film the trial.

As a result, all of the other contestants also have to stay up until they return, so they can greet their castlemate and find out how the trial went.

The main reason for doing this is simply that the show's production team want to leave as much time as possible to edit footage together for the following evening's episode.

If they had to wait until the next morning to shoot the trials, they'd be in a tight race against time to make sure all the footage was edited together and cut down to the correct length by the 9pm broadcast.

That's not to say we don't see footage that's been filmed during daylight hours. Some tasks (as opposed to Bushtucker trials) have taken place during the day - such as the Castle Coin challenge which saw Jordan and Ruthie separating and organising a herd of ducks.

The final of this year's I'm A Celebrity, presented by Ant and Dec, takes place next Friday

Bear in mind that when the show is filmed in Australia, the bit where Ant & Dec announce which celeb is doing the trial happens first thing in the morning for them, due to the time difference.

That allows them to film the trial during daylight hours, while the UK is fast asleep.

But staying on Greenwich Mean Time this year means the celebrities have to film the trials during the night, which is why no trial so far has taken place outdoors or even in daylight.

Which is probably for the best. Jordan North is terrified enough as it is, the poor lad doesn't need sub-zero night-time outdoor British temperatures to make things worse.

I'm a Celebrity continues nightly on ITV until 4 December.