Shane Warne has been bitten by an anaconda after plunging head first into a tank of snakes on the reality television show I'm a Celebrity ... Get Me Out of Here.

The episode, which aired on Thursday night on Channel Ten, required Warne to dunk his head into boxes filled with African clawed frogs, scorpions, Madagascan hissing cockroaches and rats as part of the show’s “Tucker Trial”.

He was then presented with a Perspex tank of snakes - reportedly his biggest fear.

“Aw, no, come on,” the spin legend said.

“A little warning, Shane,” the show’s host, Chris Brown, said. “You were just in with those rats for a long period of time. They may see you as being food.”

Brown’s caution proved prophetic - Warne was struck on the head by the non-venomous anaconda.

The person in charge of Warne’s Twitter account for as long as he is in the South African jungle, where the series is being shot, tweeted supportively.

News Corp Australia reports that the bite was treated with antiseptic fluid and that a medic is monitoring Warne for signs of infection.

“Shane has made no secret that snakes are one of his greatest fears so it’s amazing that after being bitten he bravely continued with the trial,” an executive producer of the show told News Corp Australia.

“When Shane puts his mind to a task, he won’t let anything stop him.”

Warne’s single-mindedness is also evident in his challenging widely-upheld scientific theories.

The cricketer questioned Darwinism on Monday’s episode of the show, offering his own explanation: “Basically I’m saying, aliens. We started from aliens.”

Warne is believed to have bee paid about A$3m to appear on the show.

Guardian services