Shortly before the TV start

Jungle campers had to flee from bad weather!

These twelve celebrities are taking part in the 18th season of "Ich bin ein Star - Holt mich hier raus!" this year.(Bild: RTL/Boris Breuer)

Shortly before the new season of "Ich bin ein Star - Holt mich hier raus!" flickers across the screens, there is dramatic news from the jungle: the celebrities had to flee the Australian location and be brought to safety due to a thunderstorm.

On Friday at 8.15 pm, the jungle camp starts its 18th round on RTL and RTL+ - but the start was a little bumpy. Due to a sudden downpour, the twelve candidates, including Lilly Becker, Anna-Carina Woitschack and Sam Dylan, had to be evacuated at short notice. 

"Really heavy" thunderstorm
"It was still glorious sunshine until this afternoon, it was super hot, around 35 degrees", explained RTL reporter Luisa Hillmeier about the dramatic situation on site. Then came a "really heavy" thunderstorm and it rained "super hard". The rain was "not at all comparable to that in Germany" - it was "really pouring down a lot of water".

For Lilly Becker and the eleven other jungle campers, the start of the jungle camp turned out to be extremely dramatic.(Bild: RTL / Boris Breuer)

Jungle phone as a place of refuge
"The weather in Australia does what it wants. Our jungle stars have already experienced this first-hand. Shortly after they moved in, they were all told to go to the jungle phone," explained RTL. Unlike most places on set, the jungle telephone is weatherproof - it is covered and has seating. This is where the participants usually pour their hearts out in front of the TV audience or gossip about their fellow campers. 

In the meantime, however, the participants have been able to return to camp and are ready for the start of the show. "So nothing stands in the way of the big jungle fun," says RTL.