17 November 2023 , 07:35
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The new I'm A Celebrity series has kicked off in high style - with a terrifying new challenge that saw Danielle Harold screaming as she crawled along a pole high up in the sky.
Four of the celebs (Grace Dent, Sam Thompson, Fred Sirieix and Danielle Harold) all took part in the revamped Walk The Plank challenge - now called 'Pole Position' - that saw them having to make their way along a pole on the top of a building 100 metres high, whilst unfurling a flag.
In the new pole challenge the famous faces found themselves on top of the Focus Building in Surfers Paradise trying to release a flag which had a star symbol on it.
After walking down a ladder they had to edge out and could be seen clinging to a cylindrical metal pole on all fours as they tried to edge along with the star, which helped to then release the flag bit by bit.
ITV I'm A Celebrity's Danielle Harold screams in horror during terrifying Walk The Plank trail (James Gourley/REX/Shutterstock)Former EastEnders star Danielle, 32, and Fred, 51, went first and Danielle could be seen grimacing before she got to the pole, briefly slumping to the floor and wiping her eyes before she began. She could then be heard screaming as she struggled to not look down from the pole.
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Fred got his flag open first and then appeared to shout encouragement to Danielle who also managed to finish. She got hoisted back safely on the top of the building hosts Ant and Dec gave her a celebratory hug.
A show source said: "Danielle bounced back brilliantly, she really struggled to make it onto the pole at all but she was very determined and did herself proud."
Next it was the turn of Sam and Grace, and Made In Chelsea star Sam looked nervously over the edge of the building before he took his chance. A source said: "Sam was very anxious and had several pep talks from members of the crew. At one point he could be seen saying ‘yes yes yes’ and then Grace cupped his face and spoke reassuring words before they were called over by Ant and Dec."
Grace, 50, was first down onto the pole but it was Sam who beat her to the end of the challenge and got his flag open. Sam then shouted: "Go on Grace," as he encouraged his campmate to complete the challenge.
Determined Grace then got to the end of the pole and raised her arms aloft in celebration as she was winched to safety, blowing kisses at Ant and Dec.
ITV I'm A Celebrity stars of 2023 (Copyright (c) 2023 Shutterstock)The full drama from the Focus building will be part of the opening I'm A Celebrity show on ITV on Friday night at 9pm. Show bosses were lucky, as minutes after the challenge finished a huge thunderstorm erupted with rain and hail which would have made the task impossible. Crew rushed to clear the filming area amidst the torrential rain and the contestants were whisked away in waiting cars.
In previous years the celebs had to edge their way out along a small plank but bosses appeared keen to mix things for the new series after some fans said the show opener had been done too often and was too familiar.
Last year in a Walk The Plank challenge comedian Babatunde Aleshe left Charlene White waiting on her plank for 45 minutes before he quit the challenge because he was shaking so much with nerves.
This year Nigel Farage, Josie Gibson and Nella Rose will also be taking part in a challenge based at Alice Springs in the outback, 2000 miles from camp.