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Telegraph
14-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
Rachel Riley being eaten by a shark won't help ocean conservation
Imagine that you are scared of water, to the point where you haven't gone into the sea past your knees for 20 years. You have two children, and you'd like to swim with them on holiday. Do you a) sign up for swimming lessons at your local pool, or b) sign up for an ITV reality show in which you have to scuba dive with sharks? Shark! Celebrity Infested Waters (ITV1) is a reasonably entertaining watch, mostly because Amandaland actress Lucy Punch is in it, but the funniest thing about it is the way it pretends to be a programme about shark conservation. My concern for the world's shark populations is not going to be affected by whether or not they eat Rachel Riley from Countdown. Let's get real. The celebrities agreed to this because their agent told them they could have a lovely holiday in the Bahamas. Well, six of these celebrities have a great time: Punch, Riley, Lenny Henry, Ross Noble, Ade Adepitan and Dougie Poynter. The seventh is Helen George. The Call the Midwife actress is the one with a phobia of the sea, and either she wasn't listening when her agent explained the concept of this show or her agent sold her a doozy, because George seems to have fundamentally misunderstood the assignment. 'I genuinely thought we'd only meet sharks once in this experience,' she says, while the others look at her with pity. She has just been told, on day one, that she will be cage-diving with bull sharks. In a nice touch, the team of experts guiding them through this experience includes an Australian who only has one arm because the other one was bitten off by a bull shark in Sydney Harbour. He now dedicates his time to promoting shark conservation 'because the real danger is not an ocean with sharks, it's an ocean without them'. He doesn't expand on this, and nor does another expert who says that bull sharks are vital because they 'take care of sick animals' in the ocean, and you might expect a bit more from a programme about shark conservation. Instead, there are lots of jokes, mostly supplied by Punch and Henry. 'What am I most scared of? Well, I'm scared of a shark attack, obviously,' says Punch. 'They are savage tubes of teeth.' She is paired with Henry during the cage dive, and they're in good spirits throughout. Henry says: 'This is the realest thing I've ever seen, and I've done panto in Lewisham.' It does look frightening, even with metal bars between the humans and the sharks. George is paired with one of the experts, who thinks that the best way to calm her nerves is to say: 'Helen, you are surrounded 360 degrees by sharks! This one is MASSIVE!' The poor woman has a panic attack, and you don't blame her. It's uncomfortable to watch, but then again, she could have stayed at home.
Metro
14-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Metro
What is Shark! Celebrity Infested Waters? All you need to know
A brand new death-defying reality series begins on Monday night, with Shark! Celebrity Infested Waters premiering at 9pm on ITV. If you've ever wondered what it would be like to watch big-name celebrities like Helen George, Lucy Punch and Rachel Riley share the sea with a bunch of sharks, then look no further. The six-part series will see seven celebrities pushed to the limit as they face one of humanity's biggest fears, all while trying to help dispel the stigma surrounding the prehistoric creatures. The Bahamas might be a luxury holiday destination, but they're also home to more than 40 different species of shark, earning it the title of 'Shark Capital of the World'. The famous faces jetting off to The Bahamas will be getting help from the show's shark experts, but they will still have to face parts of the challenge alone. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Sir Lenny Henry is perhaps the biggest name in the Shark! Celebrity Infest Waters cast list, with the veteran comedian and TV presenter, 66, ready to take on the challenge. Speaking about signing up (via Radio Times), he said: 'I didn't have that cartoon special effect where my eyeballs jumped out of my head. I considered it and thought, 'Actually, I'd love to do that.'' McFly bassist and I'm A Celeb winner Dougie Poynter, 37, who's joining Sir Lenny in The Bahamas, told Metro and other media that the show left no room for any 'egos' in the camp. 'We supported each other while doing something so dangerous,' he said. 'There was no room for ego. We had a buddy systemit was literally our job to make sure our gear was on right, and our mates' gear.' Despite the ITV show's intense premise, Rachel Riley, 39, told us that the series is 'warm and funny' and promised viewers that, while the series has a message, nothing would be 'rammed down your throat'. However, the Countdown star also revealed the danger that the celebrities put themselves into: 'It's mentioned in the programme there was a fatality in [the place we were swimming through] in 2024.' TV and film star Lucy Punch, 47, said that, while 'traditional wildlife shows preach to the converted', the family focus of Shark' Celebrity Infested Waters will 'bring in a whole new audience'. Comedian and actor Ross Noble, 49, concurred with Dougie and Lucy, saying that the entire cast 'just got on' with one another, adding to the family spirit of the show. Speaking to Metro, CBBC presenter and wheelchair basketball star Ade Adepitan, 52, called Shark! Celebrity Infested Waters a 'genuine once-in-a-lifetime experience'. 'I feel I could travel and spend all my life going around meeting people – and very, very few of them would be able to say they've swum with tiger sharks.' However, he revealed that watching Steven Spielberg's classic shark attack film Jaws before he was a teenager might have been a little bit of a mistake. 'I watched Jaws when I was nine years old but I shouldn't have watched it. If someone had told me back then that decades later I would be diving with sharks… even when I hear [the Jaws music] my blood pressure goes up.' Celebrity number seven, 41-year-old actress Helen George, said that taking part in the reality show was an 'incredible experience' after pushing herself to confront her fear of swimming. The Call the Midwife star told Metro and other media 'I was terrified of putting my head underwater. I have a real deep-rooted fear. I used to love the water when I was really young, but I went to a swimming party when I was six. 'They put those weird 90s foam mats down. They're massive yoga mats, really. I just remember this moment of being stuck underneath one and not being able to get out. There was that fear of being trapped.' She continued: 'From then, I got it in my head about not putting my head underwater… The mats were on top, and no one knew I was down there.' While Shark! Celebrity Infested Waters will focus on seven celebrities swimming with sharks, producers of the show hope that viewers will learn a few lessons as well. The celebrities will be accompanied in their challenges by shark scientist Dr. Tristan Guttridge, marine biologist Danni Washington, and shark-attack survivor Paul de Gelder. 'Coinciding with the 50th Anniversary of Jaws, the show will challenge ocean-fearing celebrities to face nature's most terrifying underwater predator – sharks,' ITV previously said about the show. More Trending The producers explained: 'With the 50th anniversary of Jaws acting as a timely cultural touchpoint, the series sets out to reframe the shark narrative – from fear and sensationalism to fascination and conservation. 'Shark! Celebrity Infested Waters has a dual mission: deliver thrilling entertainment while deepening public understanding of sharks and their fragile ecosystems.' ITV is aiming for their latest celebrity shark swimming reality show to be more serious than the 2005 show Celebrity Shark Bait, which saw four celebrities face sharks in South Africa. View More » Watch Shark! Celebrity Infested Waters on ITV, Monday at 9pm. Got a story? If you've got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@ calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we'd love to hear from you. MORE: Iconic 90s show featuring TV legends finally free to stream MORE: James Martin reveals extra precautions to protect himself after London attack MORE: Is Preston vs Liverpool on TV today? Kick-off time and team news
The Guardian
14-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
TV tonight: terrified celebrities swim with sharks in a bizarre reality series
9pm, ITV1At the risk of sounding cold-blooded, the fact that no celebrity gets gobbled up by a shark ruins any real jeopardy in this new reality series. Lenny Henry, Lucy Punch and Ross Noble are some of the stars swimming with their new fish friends – the aim being to prove that sharks are misunderstood. But they're a good bunch and it's worth rooting for Helen George – who is too scared to even go in the sea with her kids – as she dives straight in with bull sharks. Hollie Richardson 8pm, Channel 4The beloved media doctor filmed this series before his death last year, and it only adds to his already impressive TV legacy. He met people around the world whose lifestyles seem to defy ageing – starting with 70-year-old skydiver Dane. Does jumping out of a plane improve memory? Mosley investigates. HR 9pm, BBC Two 'We're just the latest in a long line of other humans,' says paleoanthropologist Ella al-Shamahi, for anyone up for starting the week with an existential crisis. She's a fantastic guide in this groundbreaking new series about human evolution, which starts by telling us there were once at least six other human species alive at the same time. HR 9pm, Channel 4Gird your loins: it's the return of this steamy swinging thriller, with a new couple. Surgeon Charlotte (Annabel Scholey) and her husband Jacob (Sam Palladio) work at the same hospital, and the power struggle is upended when Nordic nurse Mia (Aggy K Adams) joins the operating room … and moves in next door to them. HR 9pm, BBC ThreeThe series offering a dispiriting insight into the very wealthy via the people who serve their needs. Salvatore has stormed off in a huff, leaving an inexperienced team to handle a demanding corporate retreat. As guests arrive by helicopter, the staff are preoccupied by their own squabbling. Phil Harrison 9pm, Sky AtlanticEverything seems cushty for relentless manipulator Bertha (Carrie Coon): after much furtive bullying and cajoling, the marriage of her daughter and a hot duke has been formally announced. Only some amusingly soapy dramatic contrivances could possibly stand in Bertha's way from this point on. Jack Seale Dog (Channing Tatum, 2022), 7pm, Film4 Channing Tatum could have made any film he wanted for his directorial debut, and it's telling that he ended up making Dog. On the surface, Dog is a Turner & Hooch rip-off about an army ranger who has to escort his dead friend's dog across the country to be put down. However, the number of layers Tatum manages to fold in are incredible. There's comedy, and a surprisingly clear-eyed take on mental health in the military. And you'll probably cry at the end. So much better than it needed to be. Stuart Heritage
The Guardian
12-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Shark! Celebrity Infested Waters: I'm absolutely hooked by this cheeky, danger-packed reality show
I am obsessed with sharks. Fifty years on from Jaws, and for me no film can touch it. I trawl YouTube for unspeakable footage. On a recent holiday to France, I made my nonplussed household watch every shark documentary on National Geographic. I'll even make time for guff like Jaws 4 or Sharknado 5: Global Swarming. I'm metaphorically chumming the water at every opportunity. Every so often, something shows up. Shark! Celebrity Infested Waters (ITV1, Wednesday 16 July, 9pm) sees seven public figures with a fear of sharks mercilessly pushed into the water to swim with some. Say no more – I'm hooked. The victims – sorry, participants – include Lenny Henry, Lucy Punch, Ross Noble and the bassist from McFly. I like some of these people very much, and hope they don't mind that I would love them to be ripped in half and devoured in high definition, thrashing about in a vortex of reddening water. It's nothing personal. It's also unlikely, since the show is being aired. (Unless they started with eight contestants.) We are, post-Jaws, more ecologically conscious. There would be massive complaints if the show presented the sharks as primeval nightmare fuel, even though that's what they are, what ITV wants them to be and what we want them to be. It feels somehow subversive when the consistently hilarious Lucy Punch announces, 'I don't love sharks. I think they're savage tubes of teeth.' The show knows that's why we love them. You can feel it straining against its moral imperative to educate us as to why these beasts are mostly harmless, necessary and misunderstood. 'Sharks are the custodians of the sea,' an expert posits at one point. 'They take care of the sick, dying and injured.' I imagine this is the same way I 'take care of' all the burgers at a barbecue, or foam shrimps at a pick 'n' mix; I don't picture the sharks in a Florence Nightingale cap. But the programme doesn't elaborate, so who's to say. In the first hour alone, the celebs experience a rattling encounter with bulls, an alarming flirtation with stingrays, and a frenzy of lemons. They're mostly uncaged – which doesn't mean they're all in the same boat. Paralympian Ade Adepitan does everything the others do with twice the level of physical challenge, while actor Helen George has a phobia of water itself, and hasn't got in past her knees in 20 years. McFly clearly isn't afraid of anything, and probably only said he was so he could have a free diving holiday. I do wonder what the sharks make of this. Can they feel the weight of all our psychic projections? Is that why they don't sleep? In that sense, Celebrity Infested Waters is a brilliantly cheeky subtitle, flipping the POV. Fame is the opposite of being a shark, really. Irrationally beloved, a lot of celebrities are awful once you understand them. 'This is the realest thing I've ever done – and I've done panto in Lewisham' quips Henry as the sharks circle. The actors and comedians are pretty charming, and banter gamely on boats, as they overcome their aversion. But it's George in whom we're invested. She looks unwell. It's a reminder that true fear is not visually dramatic. It's a tense sickness that grips, a private experience of trying to keep an ego from completely fragmenting. I find her panic attack in a cage more affecting and real than any amount of screaming, and I hope she's OK. I'm sure she's heading for epiphany, Punch will learn to love her tubes, and Rachel Riley will be sudoku-ing with a pyjama shark at the end of five episodes. Most people don't want to stop being afraid of sharks, though. The more convenient our lives become, the more we yearn to imagine overwhelming forces. There's a paradoxical vitality to it. This truth in no way undermines the importance of marine protections, curbing man's barbarism, or our commercial predation of the natural world. I'm always on the animals' side. Happily – and without spoilers – I can reveal that one of the celebrities does get bitten by a shark in the first episode, and there is a lot of screaming, so everyone's a winner.
Daily Mail
03-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Countdown's Rachel Riley, Amandaland's Lucy Punch and McFly's Dougie Poynter take on SHARKS in outrageous new reality series that makes I'm A Celeb look tame as full line-up revealed
Countdown's Rachel Riley, Amandaland's Lucy Punch and McFly 's Dougie Poynter are set to take on sharks in an outrageous new reality series that makes I'm A Celebrity look tame. Shark! Celebrity Infested Waters is due to hit our screens next year on ITV1, ITVX, STV and STV Player. The new series, which will coincide with 50th anniversary of Jaws, will see a bunch of famous faces, who are terrified of the sea, face their fears head on by taking a plunge surrounded by the scary predators. Filming will take place in Bimini in the Bahamas - where 7-10 different types of sharks live on the island. The celebrities who are confirmed to take part are Rachel, 39, Lucy, 47, Dougie, 37, Ade Adepitan, 52, Helen George, 40, Sir Lenny Henry, 66, and Ross Noble, 48. The official press release states: 'The show will dare a group of ocean-phobic celebrities to confront their greatest fear – sharks. From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the. The line-up of the brand new reality TV show Shark! Celebrity Infested Waters has been revealed - and it's due to hit our screens soon 'Throughout their adrenaline-fueled, challenge-heavy journey in the Bahamas – the shark capital of the world – these A-listers will push past their limits to come nose to nose with nature's 'villains.' 'Their firsthand experiences will provide immeasurable excitement and new perspective. 'They'll come to appreciate sharks' valuable place on the food chain and in our ecosystem, recognizing that a world devoid of these notoriously terrifying creatures is downright frightening. 'Those taking part will be getting up close and personal with a number of different breeds of sharks throughout filming.' Head of Factual Entertainment at Plimsoll Productions, Karen Plumb, said: 'The team at Plimsoll is uniquely positioned to pioneer this format that blends conservation with wildly entertaining pop culture. 'We're constantly looking for innovative approaches to wildlife storytelling and are certain that our fish-out-of-water spin – delivering 50 years after Jaws – will transform the world's perception of these critical predators before it's too late.' Head of Entertainment Commissioning ITV, Katie Rawcliffe, said: 'We're super excited to be combining the work of Plimsoll - a Blue Chip natural history production company - with the expertise of ITV Entertainment. 'SHARK! Celebrity Infested Waters promises to be a once in a lifetime challenge for some of the bravest celebrities out there.' Shark! Celebrity Infested Waters is due to hit our screens next year on ITV1, ITVX, STV and STV Player Rachel is best known for presenting Countdown. She joined the show as the numbers expert in 2009. Meanwhile Lucy has appeared in various films and TV shows over the years. However she's arguably best known for appearing in Motherland, Amandaland. Film wise she's had roles in Hot Fuzz, You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger and Ella Enchanted. Dougie has been part of boyband McFly since they joined forces in 2003. Some of their best songs include Five Colours in Her Hair, Obviously, Star Girl, Shine a Light and I'll Be OK. Ade is known for being a TV presenter and wheelchair basketball player. He's landed roles in Desperados, Casualty and Freight, but also presented the likes of Xchange and the Paralympic Games. The star has also won gold at the Paralympic World Cup for the Men's wheelchair basketball in 2005, as well as various other medals in the Paralympic Games and Wheelchair Basketball World Championships. Meanwhile Helen is best known for playing Trixie Franklin in Call the Midwife. She's also played characters in the likes of Hollyoaks, Hotel Babylon, The Three Musketeers and D.I Ray. Comedian Lenny has been a well-known face in the industry since the 70s. He will be joined by another funnyman Ross, who has starred in TV shows such as Have I Got News For You.
