I’m A Celeb stars tackle nude shower dilemma head-on

Would you get your kit off and take a shower on national television? It’s a hot talking point for anyone in the I’m A Celeb camp.

It’s a dilemma any contestant on I’m A Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here! will have to face pretty quickly in the jungle: Will I shower naked?

In this exclusive preview clip for tonight’s episode, reality star Aesha Scott confesses that, several days into filming, she’s still yet to have her first shower. Instead, she’s made do with regular swims at the waterfall near camp.

Aesha says she’ll make do with waterfall showers …

… but Nathan says he's going to get Aesha clean.

But Geordie Shore star Nathan Hendry is horrified by Scott’s days-long soap avoidance, and joins her for her first camp shower to make sure she gets properly clean.

MAFS star Domenica Calarco also joins them in the outdoor shower – Aesha and Dom naked, while Nathan leaves his Speedos on. (For those unfamiliar with Henry, he is openly gay, and appears far more interested in making sure his fellow contestants have washed their arms and legs correctly than eyeing them up without their clothes on.)

Nathan, Aesha and Dom shower together.

Showering naked on I’m A Celeb: An insider’s view

I lived at the I’m A Celeb camp in South Africa for two days last week, as one of 13 stand-ins to take part in a ‘dry run’ of the show’s first two episodes before the real celebrities arrive. It’s an opportunity to iron out any kinks before the season begins, and the stand-ins are treated exactly as the celebs: Miked up, filmed and subjected to all the show’s trials and challenges.

I was among the second wave of contestants to arrive, after dinner on the first day, and learned that my campmates – all South Africans who’d never seen the show before – had showered naked earlier in the day, assuming there was no camera in that area of the camp.

In fact – as those shots of Nathan, Dom and Aesha show – the shower is on camera, albeit one positioned a discreet distance away.

Big Brother Uncut this is not, but if a celeb takes their togs off in the shower, it’s safe to assume one or two PG-rated faraway shots of their bum might make it to air during the season.

Nathan keeps his Speedos on, while Aesha and Dom go naked.

As our two days as I’m A Celeb stand-ins wore on, the group split into three even factions: Those who’d shower naked, those who’d shower in their swimmers, and those who wouldn’t shower at all.

We also struck a deal: Those who did shower naked would be given privacy to do so, as we all agreed to stay in the camp area until they were done.

This soon proved annoying, though, as we waited for person after person to finish their shower, which is positioned in an area outside camp that was also next to the washing up basin, jungle gym and creek. I have no doubt that if we were in camp longer than two days, these gestures towards privacy would soon go out the window.

As for me? Despite being covered in dirt and goo from our first challenge, having arrived at camp after dark, there was no way I was subjecting myself to a cold shower before my first night sleeping outside in the bush.

On day two, committed to getting the full experience for my behind-the-scenes story, I readied myself for my first naked I’m A Celeb shower. I had my trepidations: Namely, I wondered how I’d ever be able to make eye contact with the show’s production team after emerging from the jungle, knowing they may well have watched me shower starkers.

And then, I was saved by the bell: I was summoned to leave camp and take part in a trial, which would take up my last few hours as a stand-in before finishing the dry run.

This constitutes a thorough wash on I’m A Celeb.

Waiting for someone to chuck in a bath bomb.

My part in the trial – which aired on Monday night, with Kerri-Anne Kennerley in my place – saw me submerged in a box filled with cold water as I collected stars from six locked safes.

So perhaps not a shower, but I did get an I’m A Celeb bath – and I only had to share it with a baby crocodile.

I’m A Celeb airs 7.30pm Sundays to Thursdays on Ten

Nick Bond travelled to South Africa as a guest of Ten

Originally published as I’m A Celeb stars tackle nude shower dilemma head-on