Shane Richie has admitted the coronavirus pandemic has left him “literally skint” ahead of his appearance in I’m A Celebrity.

Later this week, Shane and nine other celebrities will be moving into a ruined castle in Wales for a new series of the ITV reality show, which has moved from its usual location in the Australian jungle due to travel restrictions.

Speaking ahead of his I’m A Celebrity debut, the former EastEnders star revealed his fee for the show would be coming in handy, as he’s lost out on money due to the crisis.

Shane said he’d actually signed up for I’m A Celebrity way back in January before the pandemic hit, and had been swayed to take part in honour of the 20th series.

“I agreed to do it because it was the 20th one,” he explained. “My kids were old enough to travel to Australia and they wanted to meet Ant and Dec!

“We were all really excited.”

He continued: “We were going to fit it around my other work projects as I was going on tour, doing a TV series and panto but that all got cancelled in March.

“And now I am literally skint! You save money for a rainy day but you don’t expect the rainy day to last six months.

“Thankfully I’ve been able to borrow money from mates, my family and the bank and my wife is now very happy we can finally pay off the credit card!

“But what an honour to be asked before lockdown. I am so grateful and I am really looking forward to being around adults again instead of my wife and three children!” 

Those joining Shane in the castle include former Strictly Come Dancing professional AJ Pritchard, fellow soap star Beverley Callard and Olympic runner Sir Mo Farrah.

ITV recently confirmed that one of the contestants on the line-up was still in self-isolation, having recently tested positive for coronavirus.

I’m A Celebrity launches on Sunday 15 November at 9pm on ITV.