Nicola McLean claims I'm A Celeb standby contestants get paid £20k

Nicola McLean has claimed \'I\'m A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here!\' standby contestants are paid £20,000.

The 38-year-old model - who appeared in the ITV show in 2008 - says the show has a host of contestants on standby in case one of the campmates fall ill, gets injured or has to leave for personal reasons.

And she claims the secret stars are paid £20,000 and gifted a first-class flight to Australia even if they do not step foot in the jungle.

Nicola wrote in her Closer magazine column: "Aside from the two latecomers, other celebrities are standby in case anyone gets injured or ill - but get sent home once the voting starts, as then it doesn\'t matter if someone leaves.

"They travel first class, stay in a hotel and get paid £20,000.

"Timmy Mallett did that for three years before he got in, but that\'s rare because most don\'t go in the show."

Nicola blabbed the jungle secrets after previously revealing how the show\'s juiciest gossip is not aired for legal reasons.

She said: "As much as we\'re hoping for exciting Kardashian or Cheryl gossip, it might not be the case, because lawyers watch each episode before it airs to make sure the people campmates are talking about aren\'t defamed.

"I was in \'Celebrity Big Brother\' with Ray J - Kim\'s ex, with whom she did the sex tape - and he told us loads of stuff, but it never aired because of legal reasons."

However, the producers will give the jungle residents a nudge if the conversation gets boring.

Nicola added: "The jungle is not like \'Big Brother\' where you see the cameras, so you\'re unaware of them and act more naturally.

"But, if the conversation around the camp starts to get boring, sometimes the producers will give you a nudge at the Bush Telegraph and say, \'How about you sit round the campfire and talk about this?\' "