I’m a Celebrity stars would sing copyrighted music to prevent private conversations making it to air

Tracks by Queen, Disney and The Beatles were used to disqualify private gossip

I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! runner-up Jordan North has revealed that contestants would sing copyrighted music underneath conversations they didn’t want televised.

Tunes such as The Beatles’ “Hey Jude”, and songs from Disney’s Frozen, were belted out whenever the stars wanted to gossip without the viewers being able to listen in, on the latest series of the long-running ITV reality show.    

North, a radio DJ, ultimately lost out on I’m a Celebrity to podcaster and presenter Giovanna Fletcher during last Friday’s final episode.

Speaking on the BBC Radio 1 Breakfast Show, North said: “Before we went in, we were told not to sing any songs by Queen, The Beatles or Disney.”

Though the series did feature a number of licenced music selections throughout its run – including the theme to Marvel’s Avengers – ITV was not able to afford the rights to certain artists.

“If we were having a conversation that we didn't want on air, we'd get someone in the background to sing ‘I Want To Break Free’ or ‘Hey Jude’,” revealed North.

The Beatles’ music is notoriously expensive to use in film and TV. 

Their 1966 track “Tomorrow Never Knows”, from the album Revolver, was featured in an episode of AMC drama Mad Men in 2012, costing the show’s producers a staggering $250,000.