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WhatToWatch
WhatToWatch
Entertainment
David Hollingsworth

Celebrity is replaced on The Wheel by I'm A Celeb star after getting too dizzy!

Michael McIntyre hosts The Wheel.

A celebrity on Michael McIntyre's The Wheel had to exit the show and be replaced before filming had finished because they felt too dizzy being spun around!

Richard Osman, one of the celebs taking part in the episode of the BBC One hit to be shown later this year, said that the mysterious star was so sick they couldn't continue. Former heavyweight boxer and I'm A Celebrity 2023 contestant Tony Bellew stepped in at the last minute to replace the shaky celeb.

Richard explained that even before the show starts everyone is spun around "about thirty times" so the cameras can get all the shots they need.

"One of the celebrities I was on with had to leave the show because they got too dizzy and they were ill," Richard revealed on his podcast. "They had to be replaced at the last minute by another celebrity. It had happened once before, they [the makers] told me."

Richard explained the celebrity — who sadly he wouldn't name — was feeling "nauseous". "[The wheel] spins pretty quick. It's not SAS: Are you tough enough? but it's not far off! They were filming two shows in a day and Tony Bellew turned up early for his show and so he got drafted into our The Wheel."  

Tony Bellew stepped in at the last minute (Image credit: ITV)

Richard also revealed further behind-the-scenes secrets about The Wheel, including the fact the set is real and the contestants do rise up from below to join the stars on the wheel. The makers have created an elaborate set at Bovingdon Airfield Studios in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, which gives them enough space to create the giant wheel. 

He continued: "They chose this studio because it's not the widest set in the world but it is pretty much the tallest set because the whole set is 12 feet up in the air. So you've got 12 feet underneath it and underneath it is one chair [which lifts up] and the contestants as well. 

"Just set off to the side, so still underneath everything, is the contestant wheel that you see on camera that they are spun on and everyone is chosen randomly. There is only one seat underneath but it is all connected. So everything is pretty much actually like you see on television which is absolutely brilliant."

Richard loved shooting The Wheel and didn't get dizzy! (Image credit: Getty Images)

Richard also revealed that one of the contestants on his episode never got spun into the game. The 53-year-old star fit shooting an episode of The Wheel into his busy schedule. Excitingly for fans of his book series, there's a Thursday Murder Club movie on the way, which boasts an all-star cast including Dame Helen Mirren and Pierce Brosnan. The Wheel 2024 will be back for new episodes later this year.

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