ITV has been fined £1,672 after 'I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!' contestants on killed and ate a rat.

TV chef Gino D'Acampo - who went on to win the 2009 series of the show - and actor Stuart Manning beheaded the rodent with a kitchen knife before turning it into risotto after they were "exiled" and reduced to rations of rice and beans.

But the British network has now been fined for animal cruelty by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) in Australia, where the gruelling reality show was filmed.

RSPCA chief inspector David Oshannessy said: "The animal was killed for a TV show, that's not appropriate."

A spokesman for ITV said: "ITV has apologised for the mistake which led to this incident.

"The production was unaware that killing a rat could be an offence, criminal or otherwise in New South Wales, and accepts that further inquiries should have been made.

"This was an oversight and we have since thoroughly reviewed our procedures and are putting in place a comprehensive training programme to ensure that this does not happen in future series."

ITV was also forced to pay an extra £1,435 in costs.

Gino was arrested on animal cruelty charges shortly after he was crowned king of the jungle and quizzed by the RSPCA.