Conwy county council’s deputy leader has told colleagues “there’s hope” ITV reality show I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here will come back to North Wales again.

The show, hosted by TV personalities Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly, starts it’s first ever series away from Australia at Abergele’s Gwrych Castle this Friday.

Despite it not having begun yet the authority’s deputy leader and economy spokesman, Cllr Goronwy Edwards, said there would be “spin-offs” from the production.

He told colleagues on the council’s cabinet committee he had been interviewed by BBC Wales on Tuesday morning, and the network had been keen to hear the effects of the show on the county’s economy.

Cllr Edwards told cabinet members: “Certainly it is encouraging and a lot of businesses have already benefited from (I’m a Celebrity) coming to Gwrych Castle.

“I think there will be many spin-offs going forward and there’s hope of a further series coming from that area, with further investment into the economy in that area.

“This show keeps North Wales and Conwy in particular on the map as a destination for people to come and do business.”

Cllr Edwards said he and council leader Sam Rowlands, who along with cabinet member for culture and heritage Dr Mark Baker is a trustee of Gwrych Castle, had been out speaking to businesses this week.

He added the hope of a new vaccine for coronavirus would also give businesses a boost.

Cllr Rowlands revealed the council had already paid out more than £2m of Welsh Government aid to businesses in the county, from the latest tranche of funding.

He added the council was still working through “hundreds of other grant applications” despite the “administrative complexities” of the scheme.

In another announcement Cllr Rowlands said the rate of coronavirus infections in Conwy county had almost halved from its peak and hoped the firebreak was responsible breaking the rise in transmission.

He told councillors the rate of infection was now 76 cases per 100,000 population over the past seven  days.

The last time it was that low was a month ago and had come down from a high of 149.3 per 100,000 on October 15.