Holly Willoughby’s Netflix show Celebrity Bear Hunt is I’m A Celeb on steroids
Don’t let the juvenile title of Holly Willougby’s new show put you off – Celebrity Bear Hunt is surprisingly one of the best new reality TV series in years.
In a rare departure from ITV, Holly leads 12 celebrities into the Costa Rican jungle where they take part in various bear hunts – as in, they’re hunted by Bear Grylls.
They must work as a team to escape the claws of the TV adventurer or face being hurled into ‘The Bear Pit’, a particularly gloomy part of the jungle riddled with snakes, spiders, and crocodiles big enough to eat a family of four.
It’s I’m A Celebrity on steroids.
The stars may sleep in luxury compared to I’m A Celeb campmates, but the dangers are real and several stars learn that the hard way.
Boris Becker (yes, that’s the caliber of celebrity) hears his knee crunch and it looks like it could be game, set and match to Bear just minutes into episode one.
A preview shows Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen collapsed and being given oxygen while it’s been reported Steph McGovern was injured so badly it left Holly ‘visibly upset’ and ‘shaken’.
At one point Mel B is on a sinking boat surrounded by crocodiles.
Not even an actual Spice Girl is safe.
It’s unclear why the stars have signed up to something so perilous. Of course, there’s the money but I can’t imagine any of them ever need to worry that a Deliveroo is about to tip them into their overdraft on payday like the rest of us.
There is a real risk of being bitten by a snake, or chomped up by a crocodile and if the likes of Strictly Come Dancing judge Shirley Ballas and Joe Thomas from The Inbetweeners are ready to put their life on the line for a binge-able Netflix series then so be it.
Celebrity Bear Hunt is packed with highs and lows. I genuinely love watching a team of strangers club together and form bonds you can only make through sharing such an intense, often traumatic, experience together.
Immediately the cast of stars are so open and vulnerable with each other in between running away from an overzealous Grylls.
Lottie Moss, sister of supermodel Kate, breaks down in tears very early on revealing she almost went to rehab instead of flying to the Costa Rican jungle, cradled by supportive celebs who only met her days ago.
Shirley is determined to dispel any myths that a 64-year-old woman isn’t as tough as her younger, fitter co-stars – and does just that. Watching a woman who has been named Latin Champion of the World, worked her way up to become head judge on the biggest show on television visibly taken aback by her own triumph during a particularly hellish challenge here is an incredibly touching watch.
Even Boris, the youngest player to win Wimbledon and one of the most celebrated and decorated sporting stars of all time, is candidly open about his recent jail time and life after time behind bars.
It’s a perfectly constructed cast, each star comes with their own baggage and motivation for pushing themselves to the limits beyond the Netflix pay-cheque.
But Celebrity Bear Hunt has a mountain to climb to really cut through when reality television has become so saturated with celebrities putting themselves in danger for Entertainment. It’s becoming increasingly hard to be impressed by anything new.
Boris Becker and Spice Girl Mel B lead the all-star lineup
The Traitors is the only reality television to really capture the public’s imagination in years, and that’s in part to its cast of normal but extremely likable characters playing the game. This cast is likable, sure, but normal they are not.
I’m A Celebrity’s longevity is in part due to being the first of its kind, its popularity was waning until the latest series recognised it needed a fresher cast more appealing to younger audiences if it was going to last.
Celebrity Bear Hunt does feel immediately like the most enthralling new reality television series in a very long time though. It’s a lovable cast with a game that provides enough risk and tension to drive the hunger for more after each episode.
I felt a bit indifferent to hearing about Celebrity Bear Hunt but after watching three episodes (one, two and eight), I’m incredibly invested in watching the rest.
It’s a big win for Holly, her first major show presenting solo since having Phillip Schofield or Stephen Mulhern to lean on for support on This Morning and Dancing on Ice. She’s always felt a cut above both of her biggest ITV shows and Celebrity Bear Hunt is the proof.
Given the career she’s had it’s staggering to think it’s taken this long to have a show she can call her own worthy to be compared to Claudia Winkleman on Traitors, Davina McCall on Big Brother or Caroline Flack on Love Island.
If anything, the only thing missing is more Holly. It’s a great opportunity for her to come into her own away from the safety of her ITV background and become the beating heart of Celebrity Bear Hunt.
Perhaps she does become that as the series progresses – I hope so.
Celebrity Bear Hunt is available to stream on Netflix now.
Holly Willoughby’s Netflix show Celebrity Bear Hunt is I’m A Celeb on steroids