A statement from the programme said: “A security breach was identified and an intruder was removed from the location with immediate effect.
“The safety of both our celebrities and our production crew remains our primary concern.”
This just in – From Arwen to Ant wind 😳💨 it’s all go here as we record the show instead of being live on your tellies tonight – an #ImACeleb first! Stay safe in the storm everyone x pic.twitter.com/M3rqmj70XQ
Presenters Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly – known as Ant and Dec – had been set to broadcast live from Gwrych Castle in North Wales before severe storm warnings forced ITV to pre-record an episode of the show for the first time.
The pair posted a video from outside the castle ahead of the programme, in which the roar of the wind in the background was palpable.
Advertisement
“You’ve probably heard we’ve had to record the show a bit earlier tonight because of the winds here at Storm Arwen,” said Mr Donnelly.
“It’s bad, isn’t it, it’s really windy,” said Mr McPartlin. “You can hear it, it’s rattling the tent, it might blow this away, so we’ve got to get it done and get out of here.”
“It’s due to get worse later so everyone is afraid that the satellite is going to go down and all of that, so it’s a bit risky to do a live show, so we’re going to have to do it recorded tonight, which is the first time we’ve ever done that,” Mr Donnelly added.
He said: “It’s very, very windy but even worse than that it was lentils for lunch, so Ant is a bit windy as well.”
This year’s I’m a Celeb series has already been disrupted after TV presenter Richard Madeley was forced to withdraw after breaking the show’s COVID bubble.
The 65-year-old was taken to hospital in the early hours of Thursday morning after falling ill and had to pull out because of the visit.
The journalist and broadcaster later said he was “gutted” that he could not return to the set and felt “fit as a fiddle”.
Normally held in Australia, the show was moved to Wales last year due to COVID-19 travel restrictions.
Madonna has played her biggest-ever gig to an estimated 1.6 million people on Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro.
It was the last show in her Celebration tour and she performed hits such Like A Prayer, Vogue, Hung Up, Into The Groove and Like A Virgin.
The Brazil city was buzzing ahead of Saturday’s free two-hour show, with hotels and Airbnb’s packed and about 170 extra flights expected into the city.
Helicopters and drones buzzed over the beach as the Queen of Pop took to the stage at 10:37pm, nearly 50 minutes late.
“Here we are in the most beautiful place in the world,” Madonna told the crowd as she pointed out Rio’s famous mountains and Christ the Redeemer statue.
The 65-year-old opened up with Nothing Really Matters from 1998’s Ray of Light album.
Eighteen speaker towers were dotted along the beach to ensure everyone could hear the US star’s vocals.
Brazilian musicians and people from local samba schools were involved in the show – with many fans dressing up in Madonna-themed outfits.
“Since Madonna arrived here, I’ve been coming every day with this outfit to welcome my idol, my diva, my pop queen,” said Rosemary de Oliveira Bohrer, 69, who wore a version of Madonna’s iconic gold cone bra.
Advertisement
Many fans had staked out a spot many hours – or even days – before the show, while others took in the spectacle from yachts or apartment balconies.
Madonna’s website said it was the biggest she had ever done – more than 10 times the 130,000 she played to in Paris in 1987.
However, Rio is used to huge shows – The Rolling Stones and Rod Stewart have played to similar-size crowds there.
Thousands of police were on duty for Saturday’s show, which city authorities estimated drew a crowd of 1.6 million and would earn the local economy about 293 million reals (£46m).
Follow Sky News on WhatsApp
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
For Madonna, it was the culmination of an 81-date retrospective tour that began in London in October and moved across Europe and North and South America.
The singer embarked upon the tour a few months after being admitted to intensive care with a serious bacterial inaction in June 2023.
The UK’s Eurovision Song Contest representative has addressed “extreme” remarks from fans over Israel’s inclusion in the competition.
Olly Alexander was selected as this year’s representative for the UK for the popular singing competition.
It’s set to take place in Malmo, Sweden, next week but tens of thousands are expected to protest Israel’s involvement and its ongoing war in Gaza.
Alexander, the Years & Years singer, has found himself facing criticism from some who called for him to withdraw amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas.
Queers for Palestine circulated a letter, signed by thousands including actors Indya Moore, Brigette Lundy-Paine, and Maxine Peake calling for the It’s A Sin actor to pull out of the show.
In March, along with Irish hopeful Bambie Thug, Danish entrant Saba and other Eurovision artists, Alexander released a joint statement, backing “an immediate and lasting ceasefire” but refusing to boycott the event.
Now, speaking out in a new documentary which has followed the 33-year-old as he prepares for the show, he has described some of the comments he and other participants have faced as “very extreme”.
More on Eurovision
Related Topics:
He said: “A lot of the contestants and myself have been having a lot of comments that are like ‘You are complicit in a genocide by taking part in Eurovision’ which is quite extreme. It’s very extreme.
“I understand where that sentiment is coming from but I think it’s not correct.
Advertisement
“It’s an incredibly complicated political situation, one that I’m not qualified to speak on.
“The backdrop to this is actual immense suffering. It’s a humanitarian crisis, a war.
“It just so happens there’s a song contest going on at the same time that I’m a part of.”
Speaking in the BBC’s documentary titled Olly Alexander’s Road To Eurovision ’24, he continued saying that people should boycott Eurovision if they didn’t feel comfortable watching and he respected their decision – but would be taking part himself.
He added: “My plan is to just focus on putting on a good performance in Malmo.
“My team, everyone’s worked so hard, and we’re in the final stretch now.”
Follow Sky News on WhatsApp
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
Earlier in the week, Alexander broke down crying during an interview with The Times when discussing the pressure he had come under for participating in Eurovision.
He told the paper he knew a number of signatories of the petition against him, and none had reached out to him.
He said: “This is so much bigger than me and Eurovision, it really is. But, obviously, I wish there wasn’t a war or this insane humanitarian crisis.
“I wish for peace and I have found this experience, at times, extremely … I’ve just felt really sad and distressed.”
Speaking on Sky’s Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips, deputy director general of the European Broadcasting Union who organises Eurovision, Jean Philip De Tender, defended Israel’s inclusion in the competition.
He said: “We do understand the concerns and deeply held views around the war in the Middle East.
“The song contest is a music event organised and co-produced by 37 public broadcasters, it’s not a competition between nations or governments.
“Our governing bodies reviewed the participation of Kan [Israel’s public broadcasting corporation] and found that they met all of the competing rules.”
Phillips pointed out incidences when Kan came under fire for their broadcasting.
This included, he said, when Kan published a video of children singing, in the public broadcaster’s own words, for the “annihilation of Gaza” and when one of their presenters was seen writing “I want to send the people of Gaza artillery shells”.
Mr De Tender said they had been in contact with Kan about the content they published and their editorial output, and had expressed concern on occasion.
He added that Eurovision had competition rules which they had to follow, and taking action beyond these rules to exclude Kan would have been a “political decision as such which we cannot take”.
He also won a US civil lawsuit in October 2022, after being accused of an unwanted sexual advance at a party in 1986.
The Channel 4 documentary titled Spacey Unmasked is said to feature testimony from men “regarding events they say took place between 1976 and 2013, and relate to what they describe as unwanted sexual behaviour” from Spacey, according to an email shown during the interview.
‘I wasn’t in on the deal’
The two-part series, produced by Roast Beef Productions, is set to air on Monday and Tuesday next week.
More on Kevin Spacey
Related Topics:
“I take full responsibility for my past behaviour and my actions, but I cannot and will not take responsibility or apologise to anyone who’s made up stuff about me or exaggerated stories about me,” the 64-year-old US actor said.
“I’ve never told someone that if they give me sexual favours, then I will help them out with their career, never.
“…I’ve clearly hooked up with some men who thought they might get ahead in their careers by having a relationship with me.
“But there was no conversation with me, it was all part of their plan, a plan that was always destined to fail, because I wasn’t in on the deal.”
‘Clumsy passes’
During the interview, he denied accusations of any illegal behaviour, but did say he had made “clumsy passes” at people in the past.
“Were there times when I would flirt with some of the people who were involved in those programmes who were in their 20s? Yes,” he said.
“Did I ever hook up with another actor? Yes. Did I make a clumsy pass at someone who wasn’t interested as it turned out? Yes.
“But I was not employing them, I was not their boss, I was often times just swimming in for an hour here or there as a well-known actor to lend support… to answer questions.
The Usual Suspects and House Of Cards star said he has struggled to get work after being acquitted of all criminal charges, branding his experience a “life sentence”.
Spacey was one of the most recognised faces in Hollywood when allegations of sexual misconduct were made in 2017, leading streaming giant Netflix to cut ties with the actor.
Sky News has not been able to verify the latest allegations.