10:24pm UK, Sunday August 25, 2002

The celebrity version of Survivor has got underway - with the eight stars being flown to a remote jungle outpost.

SL Celebrity Survivor

Contestants line up

Model Nell McAndrew and It-girl Tara Palmer-Tomkinson are among celebs swapping lavish lifestyles for a gruelling ordeal in the Australian outback.

The firstpart of I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! was shown on ITV1 on Sunday night.

The other contestants are ex-boxer Nigel Benn, veteran DJ Tony Blackburn, spoon-bender Uri Geller, singer Darren Day, comedian Rhona Cameron, and Christine Hamilton, wife of the disgraced former Tory minister Neil.

They will be cut off from the outside world for a fortnight with only basic rations of rice and water.

Insects

Benn has shaved his head in fear of deadly insects invading his dreadlocks.

Palmer-Tomkinson has taken hypnotist Paul McKenna to overcome her fear of snakes.

The show is set in one of the world's most inhospitable environments in Northern Queensland where temperatures can reach a sweltering 37C.

It is home to deadly spiders the size of dinner plates and over 35 species of snake, including three-metre long pythons.

Viewers

Viewers of the ITV show will get to decide the fate of the eight C-list stars, from whether or not they eat to how long they stay on the show.

They can phone in to single out one of the celebrities to carry out a task which determines whether the group eats or goes hungry.

In the second week of the show, hosted by Ant and Dec, viewers vote for which celebrity they want to evict until one persons is left the winner.

Bookies Coral make McAndrew the 11-4 favourite.