Holly Willoughby faces major blow as her Netflix show Celebrity Bear Hunt 'faces the axe after just one series unless mega-budget is cut'
Holly Willoughby has been dealt a huge blow as her new Netflix show Celebrity Bear Hunt faces the axe.
The second series of the jungle adventure show, which was held in Costa Rica, is yet to be approved despite several meetings.
It's been reported that the show, which proved to be a hit with viewers and critics, needs to have mega-budget cuts if it is to return with hosts Holly, 44, and Bear Grylls, 50, likely to face pay cuts.
A cheaper location is also being sought, as well as plans for fewer expensive celebrities after the likes of Spice Girl Mel B and tennis player Boris Becker were among the 12 stars in the first series.
Other celebrities that took part included Lottie Moss, Danny Cipriani, Big Zuu, Joe Thomas, Kola Bokinni, Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen, Leomie Anderson, Shirley Ballas, Steph McGovern and Una Healy.
A source has now told The Sun: 'It got excellent reviews and was a brilliant production. Bosses were happy with its performance.
'Yet if it is recommissioned, cuts will 100 per cent be made and this could include talent salaries — both Holly and Bear as well as the celebs.
'All measures are being explored. As to location, think Clacton or Croatia, not Costa Rica.'
MailOnline have contacted Netflix, Holly Willoughby and Bear Grylls ' representatives for comment.
There was high drama on the show, which first aired in February, when interior designer Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen became tangled in some ropes while rafting, lost consciousness, and had to be revived on the beach by Grylls.
Llewelyn-Bowen said: 'I had a nasty moment where I was actually blacked out on the beach and I came to and I saw this beautiful blonde with sunlight behind her … and luckily it was Holly!
'When she leaned forward and said: 'You alright, Laurence?' I knew it was Holly ... but if the angel Gabriel looks anything like Holly Willoughby, I think the angel Gabriel is gonna be very chuffed.'
Holly now appears to be taking her TV career in a new direction as she is now without an ITV show following Dancing On Ice's axing.
She recently dashed ITV's hopes that she would be their Saturday night star by turning down a lucrative deal to front game show You Bet!.
ITV sources told the Mail she was 'busy with other commitments' after Holly branched out to host Celebrity Bear Hunt in her first big role away from ITV.
It is the first time that Holly has not had an ITV show on her schedule for the first time in more than two decades after becoming the broadcaster's TV darling.
She has long been a familiar face on both ITV and ITV2, hosting on shows including Surprise Surprise, Celebrity Juice, The Games, The Xtra Factor and I'm A Celebrity.
Holly is arguably best known for having fronted This Morning alongside Phillip Schofield from 2009 until 2023, while she also helmed Dancing On Ice from 2006.
However, ITV viewers now won't be able to get a dose of Holly as there has not yet been any public news of her having signed on to another project with the channel.
In a huge blow to ITV, Holly then turned down a lucrative deal to front a new series of the classic game show You Bet! because of her other commitments.
A source told the Mail: 'You Bet was so popular with the viewers wished it came back for two shows that ITV bosses decided to give it a full run.
'Holly and Stephen are a great double act and they were both brilliant so they were asked back.
'But Holly politely declined, she has other commitments and couldn't make it work.
'She is in demand and now she isn't shackled to This Morning four days a week, she is able to look at more options, some are global.
'Celebrity Bear Hunt was a huge thing for her, her first role with Netflix and she just loved it and they loved her so there could very well be much more where that came from.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mirror
2 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
Blind Date reboot set for huge return with Love Island inspired twist
Iconic dating show Blind Date is set for another reboot with it said to be getting a Love Island-style twist when it airs on Disney+ One of the most iconic gameshows is set to return to our screens, but with a twist. Fans of eighties television will be buzzing at the news that Blind Date is set for a reboot. The dating show which was hosted by Cilla Black is set for a revival. However, instead of its previous ITV home, the show is set to appear on Disney+. And in a dramatic twist, the show will see contestants spend time on a tropical island as hopefuls compete for a dream wedding on the golden sands. An insider claims the show will have "hints of Love Island about it". Talking to the Sun, the source said it's a "radical departure" from the old style Blind Date. They told the publication: "But fans will recall a lot of the dates took place in hot, sunny climes abroad, and producers want to recapture some of the steamy fun, and expand upon that. 'Even the wedding element has hints of the old show, because the dream was always that the dates on the programme would lead to couples tying the knot.' And they added that not all of the old characteristics will be eliminated, with plans still set to incorporate the show's famous sliding wall. The source went on to say the show's producers hope to "hire a top female host just like Cilla". It's said a star-studded line-up of female hosts are being eyed up to step into Cilla's shoes. Among those being rumoured are Holly Willoughby, Davina McCall and The Traitors ' Claudia Winkleman. It's unknown whether the show will provide a replacement for voiceover Graham Skidmore, aka 'Our Graham'. The show's return was speculated earlier this month, 22 years after it last aired. The ITV show originally aired on Saturday nights from 1985-2003. At the time, saw hundreds of couples meet for the first time looking for love. Like most dating shows, many didn't last past the studio doors, however a number of couples did make it all the way to the alter. Any reboot won't be the first time the show has been revived. Most recently, in 2017, the show made its return on Channel 5. It came two years after the death of original host Cilla Black - with Paul O'Grady replacing the late host. Melanie Sykes also joined the show as a replacement for 'Our Graham' providing the iconic voiceover. The show ran for four series until June 2019. Original voiceover Graham died in 2021 at age 90, seven years after the death of host Cilla Black in 2015.
Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Coronation Street star 'set to return to soap within weeks as she makes shock U-turn on plans to take a break'
A Coronation Street star is reportedly set to make a dramatic return to the cobbles in just a few weeks - despite having previously announced she was taking a break. Dame Maureen Lipman, 79, beloved by fans for her role as straight-talking Evelyn Plummer, has apparently made a U-turn on her decision to step back from the long-running ITV soap. In July last year, it was reported that the actress would be taking 'an extended break' from Corrie, with her character Evelyn written out of the show as she left Weatherfield to study law at university at the age of 78. Now, a source has told The Sun that Evelyn is set to make a return to Coronation Street, and fans won't have long to wait. An insider said: 'As Evelyn went off to uni, it makes sense for her to pop back in from time to time.' MailOnline has contacted ITV and Dame Maureen's representative for comment. The veteran actress made her official on-screen exit in January after regular appearances on the soap since 2018. However, she had hinted that her time in Weatherfield wasn't over just yet. Appearing on ITV's Love Your Weekend with Alan Titchmarsh, she admitted: 'Yes, I have been signed up to do another year. 'It's good for you, it keeps you on your metal, my goodness me. I mean everything is still completely fascinating to me.' Despite confirming her extended contract, she also revealed in December that she would be 'absent for a while' but promised a comeback. Speaking to The Sun at the time, she explained her character isn't going to die, but she will be in and out of the show because she 'wants to have a bit of a life'. However, Dame Maureen also took a subtle swipe at the show's current direction, calling on producers to return to more classic storytelling. On the Beyond The Title podcast, she said: 'We've come to a point in Corrie now where people are getting murdered in knicker factories. Now, a source has told The Sun that Evelyn is set to make a return to Coronation Street, saying: 'As Evelyn went off to uni, it makes sense for her to pop back in from time to time' (pictured 2024) 'We're having domestic abuse. Anything that ticks the box of social problems in the 21st century is going to be in your local soap. 'Whereas back then you had the freedom to put Martha [Longhurst], Minnie [Caldwell] and Ena [Sharples] in the snug and have a conversation about Ben-Hur. 'It's never been political but I always like it when the women sit down and go, "Ooh, Donald Trump, ain't his hair shocking." She added: 'All those wonderful expressions that your parents come out with. 'Like my mother saying, "Ooh, doesn't a black skirt cover a multitude of sins." People talk like that, and we recognise it as true.' Coronation Street continues on ITV1 and is available to stream on ITVX.
Scottish Sun
3 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
Shock moment Love Islander says he's ‘done' with villa girl as he KISSES new bombshell
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) LOVE Island hunk Remell makes a shocking confession to new bombshell Poppy tonight. As they cosy up in the sleepover villa, he tells her he might be 'done' with Alima, who he is coupled up with in the main villa. 6 Remell and Poppy are growing close in the sleepover villa Credit: Shutterstock Editorial 6 Remell tells her that he feels 'comfy' with her Credit: ITV 6 Poppy likes what she is hearing Credit: ITV 6 The pair share a snog Credit: Shutterstock Editorial It comes after Remell and Poppy kiss in a game of Truth or Dare. Dejon dares Remell to kiss an Islander of his choice and he picks Poppy. Then later in the evening, the pair share a cosy moment where he admits he hasn't felt like this before on the show. In a clip shared on social media ahead of the scene airing, Remell says: "I'm being comfy around you still. It's the first time in, you know, the villa, that I have felt like this so it's telling me something." Smiling, Poppy responds: "Good. I like that." Remell then turns his attention to reflecting on how things are going with him in his current coupling. "Alima, it's been good in terms of where we are now, but getting there it's been a bit shaky,he says. "And it's like, maybe I'm even waiting on the fact that, I need to see if from her side, is it like a me thing why you're a slow burner, or is it you?" And he concludes: "Cause if it's a me thing then I'm done I'm not gonna lie." The pair then kiss again, leaving his relationship with Alima hanging by a thread. Of course, Remell and Alima's relationship isn't the only one in trouble tonight. Dejon also shares a kiss with Caprice in the steamy game of Truth or Dare. And back in the main villa, Conor and Megan are growing even closer. After sharing a kiss on the terrace, Megan tells Meg what happens and betrays where her feelings are at. 6 Alima is unaware of what is happening with her man and the new bombshell Credit: Shutterstock Editorial 6 Megan and Conor are also growing closer after their kiss Credit: Shutterstock Editorial 'I don't regret it though, I don't think I've done anything wrong. I'm not Tommy's girlfriend," she says. And she later confesses to Tommy about the smooch. "It's nothing against you, but I'm here to explore connections..." she insists. "I didn't have to come and tell you this but I do like you, so I am telling you.' Love Island continues at 9pm on ITV2 and ITVX.
