I'm a Celebrity: What else links Wales and Australia?

One holds it in a castle, the other in a jungle, but the I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! host countries are more alike than one might first assume.

From its first series in 2002, the reality TV show, hosted by Ant and Dec, was filmed in Australia.

On Monday, ITV said it would return to Gwrych Castle in north Wales for a second year due to Covid restrictions.

But apart from hosting the reality show famous for its bush tucker trials, what else do the countries have in common?

Kylie has a Welsh mother and Welsh boyfriend

Famous faces

Pop diva Kylie Minogue may be one of Down Under's most famous exports but she also has more than one Welsh connection.

It is well-known that her mother Carol Jones was born Maesteg in Bridgend county, but did you know Kylie is also dating a Welshman?

• The man teaching Ant and Dec to speak Welsh

• Behind the scenes of Gwrych Castle

• I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! crowns its 2020 winner

Kylie has been dating GQ's creative director Paul Solomons, from Caerphilly, since 2018.

In November, Kylie told Carol Vorderman on her BBC Radio Wales show how her boyfriend impressed her 100-year-old Nain by practising Welsh.

"You could see her face light up when he spoke Welsh to her," she said.

Naomi Watts spent part of her childhood in Llanfairpwll on Anglesey

Another Australian star with Welsh connections is the actress Naomi Watts.

She was born in Kent but spent part of her childhood with her grandparents in Llanfairpwll on Anglesey, and is honorary president of Glantraeth FC.

In 2015, she wowed a Jimmy Kimmel Live! show audience with her flawless pronunciation of the longest place name in Wales - Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch.

And Kylie isn't the only Neighbours star with a Welsh connection.

Last year Mark Little, who played Joe Mangel in the soap, revealed he was living in the wilderness as a farmer, somewhere south of Lake Vyrnwy in Powys.

Australia's first female prime minister, who served from 2010 to 2013, says her Welsh roots shaped her politics

The top job

Former Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard was born in Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, but emigrated with her family when she was four.

She previously told BBC Wales her Welsh roots shaped her politics which led her to become Australia's first female prime minister.

Ms Gillard said she did not have "original memories" of Wales but the fact her parents' "formative experiences were there, that was the subject of our family discussions in the home, so the consciousness that I was born in Wales and that mattered, has been with me throughout my life".

She was not, however, Australia's first Welsh prime minister, that was Billy Hughes, a Welsh speaker raised in Llandudno, Conwy.

He emigrated to Australia at the age of 22, started out as a labourer and served as Australian premier between 1915 and 1923.

Lieutenant James Cook is believed to have named New South Wales, believing it to look like the south coast of Wales

Namesakes

Most people will be aware of Australia's New South Wales.

The name New South Wales came from the journal of Lieutenant James Cook, later Captain Cook, who sailed up the east coast of Australia in 1770.

Some say he believed the land looked like the south coast of Wales, leading him to name it "New Wales" before changing the name in his journal to "New South Wales".

But did you know Australia has many other place names in common with Wales?

Among them you'll find Neath, Aberdare and Cardiff in New South Wales, Merthyr and Ebbw Vale in Queensland, Welshpool in Victoria and Swansea in Tasmania.

Wales, like Australia, is rightly proud of its stunning coastline

Beautiful beaches

Wales is well-known for its stunning beaches, from Barafundle Bay in Pembrokeshire to Abersoch on the Llyn Peninsula in Gwynedd.

But can they really rival Australia's Gold Coast and Byron Bay?

One Australian travel writer clearly didn't think so.

When Rhossili Bay on the Gower peninsula was named in the top 10 in the world's best beaches Anthony Sharwood said it was an "insult", describing it as a "mud-coloured" beach.

Ouch.

Wales' wine industry is growing but is a drop in the bottom of a wine glass compared to the industry in Australia

However there are many ways in which the two counties are not so similar. For instance, rugby.

In Wales, Rugby Union is something of a national obsession.

Rugby League may be the bigger sport in Australia but on the Ruby Union field they are also big hitters.

Unlike Wales, they have won two word cups, including in 1999 when the final was held in Cardiff's then-called Millennium Stadium.

Then there's wine. Wales' wine industry is growing, boasting close to 30 vineyards.

But that's a drop in the bottom of a wine glass compared to the almost 2,500 in Australia.

Author and presenter Giovanna Fletcher won the last I'm a Celebrity series

Despite not always coming out top compared with the bigger country - about 370 times bigger if you really want to know - Wales does have a big fan in the winner of last year's I'm a Celebrity.

When hearing the news that Wales would once again host the reality programme, author and presenter Giovanna Fletcher wrote on Instagram: "Even though we were blindfolded when travelling around it was the perfect place to play and have fun for a few weeks.

"Wales was never a consolation prize, it was a pure gift! I can't wait to watch!! Although it will feel like people are hanging out in my gaff!"