Latest news with #Shark!CelebrityInfestedWaters
Graziadaily
5 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Graziadaily
Why Lucy Punch Decided To Face Her Fears On Shark! Celebrity Infested Waters
Lucy Punch's acting career has taken her from the school corridors of St Trinian's to her maisonette in SoHa (south Harlesden) in Amandaland to 'the shark capital of the world' with ITV. Despite often being cast as snooty, posh characters who think getting the bus is below them, the real life Lucy was brave enough to submerge herself in shark infested waters in the name of entertainment on Shark! Celebrity Infested Waters. With an impressive list of credits up her sleeve, here's everything you need to know about Lucy, including the noughties films you may have seen her in before. Lucy Punch is an English actress from Hammersmith in London. She performed with the National Youth Theatre between 1993 and 1997 and then enrolled at University College London before dropping out to pursue acting. She is perhaps best known for her role as Amanda in Sharon Horgan's hit series Motherland , which earned her a spin-off show called Amandaland which launched in February this year. Lucy is 47 years old. She was born on 30 December 1977. Lucy has starred in everything from the Woody Allen film Into the Woods to A Series of Unfortunate Events on Netflix, Bad Teacher and the How to Build a Girl series where she played Sylvia Plath. Speaking about her triumphant role as Amanda in Motherland and Amandaland, Lucy said, 'I've always thought of Amanda as an arrested teenager. She's a mean girl. Now it's almost like she's coming of age, growing up a bit, having to make friends, having to try.' Of course, Lucy's most recent project took her to the Bahamas to conquer her fear of sharks. 'We really are right in the middle of nowhere in the sea on our own with a load of sharks but I'm hoping when Tristin comes he's going to reassure us about what we are doing and that it's safer than it looks,' she said in the first episode. She is joined on the new show by Helen George, Ade Adepitan, Rachel Riley, Dougie Poynter, Lenny Henry and Ross Noble. Lucy has reportedly been with her partner Dinos Chapman since 2014 and they live together in LA. Dinos is one half of the visual art duo The Chapman Brothers. He has two daughters from his previous marriage to Tiphaine de Lussy. While Lucy has two sons aged nine and three. No, Lucy is notoriously private about her personal life and does not have social media. Shark! Celebrity Infested Waters is on Mondays on ITV1 at 9pm or you can stream the entire series on ITVX. Nikki Peach is a writer at Grazia UK, working across entertainment, TV and news. She has also written for the i, i-D and the New Statesman Media Group and covers all things pop culture for Grazia (treating high and lowbrow with equal respect).
The Herald Scotland
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Herald Scotland
Review: Scottish comedy shorts, Shark!, A Man Called Otto
Billed as an 'entertainment and wildlife crossover' - fancy - Shark! Celebrity Infested Waters (STV, Monday) involved seven moderately famous sorts being flown to the Bahamas to learn how to swim with sharks. To show that this was all about education and not cheap laughs, the celebs were promised that no one would be voted off each week. I'd have thought that was the least of their worries. Looking at their terrified faces in the briefing, a few were wondering why they had not accepted the offer of a train ride with Michael Portillo instead. It did not help that one of the instructors was missing an arm and a leg after an encounter with a bull shark - the very type the celebs were about to meet. Since it was the first day, the stars were allowed to stand in a cage while sharks the size of Renault Clios had fun rattling the bars. Call the Midwife's Helen George had the worst of it, being too scared to put her head underwater, never mind go eyeball to eyeball with a shark. She had her reasons for fearing the water, as did Lenny Henry. 'I like the idea of having a little bit more bravery,' he said. 'Yes, we're on the telly. Yes, we're all celebrities, but it's different, this.' Was it, though? Heartstring-tugging back stories, manufactured jeopardy - it all seemed pretty standard reality show fare. The instructors were good value, and the celebrities more thoughtful than your average bunch. Ross Noble kept the quips coming, while George, once the screaming stopped, was charming company, even when a stingray got too close for comfort. 'Oh my God, it's coming right for my vagina,' she cried. There are four more weeks of this to go. I don't think Sir David Attenborough has anything to worry about. New Scottish comedy talent was on show in Govan Fair Queen and Good For Her (BBC Scotland, Monday, now on iPlayer). Normally, that would be our cue to flee the area, but not this time. Both had laugh-out-loud moments and characters you would happily give house room to again. Written by Paul Black, Govan Fair Queen starred Elaine C Smith - one of several bigger names lending a hand - as a doting granny determined that her granddaughter (Harper Blue Hamilton) would win first prize in a local talent contest. Smith was in familiar Two Doors Down/Rab C territory at first as the fag-smoking gran in a housecoat and slippers, but the story soon branched out. I've watched plenty of talent show skits, but none as truly madly Glaswegian as this. Let's just say there was one visual gag in keeping with the local culture. Good For Her was a Fast Show-style sketch fest written and performed by Zara Gladman. You may be familiar with some of her characters, chiefly Aileen, the West End mum, but there were several others. Whether she was taking on the misogynist trolling of women comedians - surely not! - indie fan boys or the ways of local newsreaders, Gladman hit the mark. There was a catch, of course. Both offerings were shorts: Govan Fair Queen was 10 minutes long, and Good for Her 20 minutes. While there is nothing wrong with starting life as a short or a sketch - Still Game came from Chewin the Fat - it doesn't have the same ring of confidence about it as a pilot (the Two Doors Down Hogmanay special that led to seven series and counting). While a nicely produced short is a handy calling card, both performers are already well known on YouTube and TikTok, particularly Gladman. What they need now is to make the jump from online to mainstream. These shorts will help, but all concerned need to get a wriggle on. It's a crowded market out there for comedy, and getting more so every day. Bookish (U&Alibi on Sky/Virgin Media/Now, Wednesday) found Sherlock writer Mark Gatiss striking out on his own. Gatiss played Gabriel Book, a secondhand bookshop owner/sleuth. Blessed with brilliant recall and a nose for a wrong 'un, the Tolstoy-quoting Book was a handy man to have around when a body was found. Not every copper was pleased to see him, but he had a letter from Churchill which gave him special access. It was one of several clues suggesting Book was not a man to be judged by his cover. This being bombed-out London two years after the war, finding bodies was not a rare occurrence. Just as well Book had a new assistant, Jack (Connor Finch), fresh out of jail that very day. Jack wondered why Book had welcomed a stranger, and an ex-con at that, into his home and given him a job. Those were questions for another time, when they were not busy with the suspicious death of a local worthy. The case took two hour-long episodes to solve, a fair old chunk of anyone's time, particularly when the budget could only stretch to a handful of the same streets and interiors. Canny TV operator that he is, Gatiss introduced a dog into the mix just in time. Not just any dog, but one that carried messages in a special container attached to his collar. As an idea it could catch on (have you seen the price of stamps?). More of a daytime drama than evening fare, but worth a look, if only to see that clever dog (named simply "Dog" by the way) in action. Time was when a Saturday night movie starring Tom Hanks would have involved an expedition to the cinema and no change out of £20. Now you can watch the double Oscar-winner for free, at home, in a film on general release not that long ago (as long as you don't mind the ads). Old Hollywood would think the business had lost its collective mind. A Man Called Otto (Channel 4, available to stream for 30 days for free on 4) began life as a Swedish novel and film before this US remake by Marc Forster (Finding Neverland, World War Z). Tom Hanks played the grumpy widower who thought the world was full of idiots. Without Otto doing his morning 'rounds' of the neighbourhood and telling people off for poor parking and other crimes, it would be anarchy out there. So far, so Victor Meldrew - and so predictable. Sure enough, a young family moved into the cul-de-sac and chipped away at Otto's Easter Island exterior. Before you knew it, the old grump was doing good deeds left, right and centre. Among A-listers, what's left of them, only Hanks could get away with such an obvious schmaltz fest as A Man Called Otto. Tom Cruise would only attempt it if snow shovelling could be turned into a life-or-death stunt. Harrison Ford comes across as authentically grumpy, so that wouldn't be much fun. Clint Eastwood probably came closest in Gran Torino, though that too was a touch spiky. But Hanks, the heir to Jimmy Stewart as a paragon of decency? Perfect. That said, credit to the Forrest Gump and Philadelphia star for sticking with the Swedish original and going to some very bleak places with the grief-stricken Otto. Tom Hanks and feline friend in A Man Called Otto (Image: Niko Tavernise/2022 CTMG) Otto, we learn from (too many) flashbacks was another in a long line of everyday American heroes to feature on the Hanks cv. This one was notable because he was ordinary to the point of almost being dull. It was love that saved him before, and it would do so again. Hanks's son Truman did a fine job of playing the young Otto. Having him around was far preferable to the startling moment when Hanks appeared as his younger self, complete with weird CGI face and unfeasibly dark hair. As for the business model behind A Man Called Otto, it more than paid its way: made for $50 million, it grossed more than double that worldwide in cinemas. Nice guys like Hanks never finish last.
Scottish Sun
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Scottish Sun
Infested waters is only kept afloat by Helen George – erotic brush with stingray could help get her land huge TV deal
AT the risk of raining on ITV's latest celebrity parade, do you think this newspaper would've mentioned his death if Sir Lenny Henry had been eaten by a shark? I do. 9 Shark! Celebrity Infested Waters has become The Helen George Show Credit: Shutterstock Editorial 9 The Call The Midwife actress is so traumatised by a childhood swimming pool incident, involving rubber floats, that she cannot put her head under water Credit: ITV 9 Helen had a brush with a stingray on the series Credit: Getty It would've taken a heroic level of restraint not to do it under the headline 'Lenny Henry in pieces' as well. My point being, expectations should be well and truly managed before clicking on Shark! Celebrity Infested Waters where, in honour of Jaws' 50th anniversary, some reasonably famous people are forced to 'confront their fears' and 'step out of their comfort zones' while having to cope with the very real trauma of coming face-to-face with scuba diving instructors in the Bahamas. It's a hell of an ordeal for Lenny and the gang, as you can imagine. All but sunk Just in case the seven ever forget the point, though, they're joined by a trio of marine experts to ram home the environmental message and explain the celebs have 'nothing to fear from one of the most persecuted animals on the planet'. A fine sentiment that's only slightly undermined by the fact one of the team, Australian Navy para Paul de Gelder, has a prosthetic arm and leg, on account of the real ones being eaten by a bull shark in Sydney Harbour. As remote as the chances of this dismembering ever being repeated on Celebrity Infested Waters were, any possibility of it being a spectacle vanished with the line-up, which really should've been headed by an apex political predator like Boris or Alastair Campbell. Aside from getting the health and safety team drunk while you tampered with the shark cage, all you would then have needed to do was sign up some professional irritants, like Nish Kumar, Gemma Collins and the drumming Welsh weatherman, before filling the final crucial spot — for teeth-related reasons — with Rob Beckett. One of the sharks attempts to attack Rob Beckett? It's funny. One of the sharks attempts to mate with Rob Beckett? It's even funnier. Instead, the show was all but sunk when ITV went for worthy and likeable characters who include: Dougie Poynter, from McFly, Ross Noble, Ade Adepitan, actress Lucy Punch and Countdown's Rachel Riley. Lenny's there as well, obviously, still trying his best, bless him. Shark! Celebrity Infested Waters All hopes the other six ever had about hogging the camera, though, were dashed with the booking of Call The Midwife's Helen George, who announced her arrival right at the start of episode one when team leader Dr Tristan Guttridge told them: 'You're meeting bull sharks today.' 'Sharks? Today? In the water?' No, back in the Coconut Lounge at the hotel. Where the hell do you think you're going to meet them? From that moment onwards, it effectively became The Helen George Show. An actress so traumatised by a childhood swimming pool incident, involving rubber floats, that she cannot put her head under water or even look at it without giving us her full Meryl Streep routine from Sophie's Choice. Mind you, it was a slightly different performance we got when a stingray nuzzled her crotch in the shallows off Bimini island. 'Oh my God, it's gone right for my vagina! 9 Helen seems to be using her rather lovely Bahaman holiday as an audition for ITV's jungle, as she keeps shouting 'Get me out!' every time she's in the water Credit: ITV 9 Ross Noble and Rachel Riley on the series Credit: Shutterstock Editorial 'Ooh! Sucky sucky,' she groaned, before admitting afterwards: 'I've never been tickled by a stingray before. It was quite pleasant.' If I had to guess, of course, I'd say what's really going on here is that Helen's using her rather lovely Bahaman holiday as an audition for ITV's jungle, as she keeps shouting 'Get me out!' every time she's in the water. I'm vaguely glad she's there as well, because Celebrity Infested Waters would be an even flatter experience without her histrionics. What all the screaming in the world cannot do, though, is add any sort of point to Celebrity Infested Waters or take away from the stupidity of the exercise. Cupping goolies Because the really mind-blowing thing about this format is that ITV tried exactly the same thing in 2005, to mark the 30th anniversary of Jaws, with a one-off show called Celebrity Shark Bait, featuring Ruby Wax, Richard E Grant and Colin Jackson. And none of them had the decency to get eaten either. Now here we are, 20 years later, with a five-part series and Dougie Poynter from McFly cupping his goolies as he waded cautiously into the ocean asking: 'Are my testicles safe?' From the sharks? 100 per cent. From Helen? 50/50. UNEXPECTED MORONS IN THE BAGGING AREA LIGHTNING, Zoe Lyons: 'In which classic board game are the Hippopotamus Defence and Queen's Gambit opening moves?' Shui: 'Cluedo.' Zoe Lyons: 'A revolving pole with red and white stripes on it is often used to identify what place of business?' Rebecca: 'Fire station.' And Zoe Lyons: 'What type of raincoat is named after the Scottish chemist who invented the material it was first made from?' Craig: 'Anorak.' Aye, good old Charlie Anorak. One of the greats. RE: ITV's women's Euros 2025 pundit Eni Aluko: 'I struggle with questioning goalkeepers.' Then kindly p*** off. It's your job. GREAT SPORTING INSIGHTS Andrew Castle: 'The final result was three sets to one but it could have been four sets to love.' Clare Balding: 'Anything could happen. And it did.' And Pat Cash: 'There are four players who can hit with a straight arm – Federer, Nadal, Del Potro, Alcarez and Fernandez.' (Compiled by Graham Wray) BONO'S A LIVE 8 NO-NO 9 The Live 8 event was driven by a politician who longed to be a rock star, Tony Blair, and a rock star who longed to be a politician, Bono, above Credit: Getty THE difference between the first two brilliant episodes of BBC2's Live Aid At 40 documentary and the soulless third was as stark as the chasm that existed between the original gig and the 2005 version. Because the first concert, in 1985, was a beautiful, spontaneous union between the British people and their favourite rock stars, driven by two men, Bob Geldof and Midge Ure, who were just trying to make a difference while having some fun. The terminally pompous Live 8 event, on the other hand, was clearly driven by a politician who longed to be a rock star, Tony Blair, and a rock star who longed to be a politician, Bono, who shared a messiah complex that overwhelmed everyone and everything else. It missed someone capable of filling the impossible void left by Freddie Mercury as well, obviously. But the most notable absence, in part three, was the public, who just had to sit tight while Blair, Putin, George W Bush and Bono did some sort of behind-closed-doors deal about Third World debt, and remain polite while Live 8 cretins like Miss Dynamite told them: 'As a nation we've robbed, killed, stolen and violated the Third World for centuries. If there's a debt to be paid, we're the ones that owe.' A version of events which is a bit hard to stomach when Britain was the first country in the whole history of humanity not just to ban the international slave trade but police it as well. She certainly set the self-loathing tone for a lot of large concerts that followed, though, and probably helped ensure one of Live Aid's main legacies is the constant background drone of celebrity sermonizing we must all now endure. And as for Africa? Yeah, it's still screwed. CELEBRITY Gogglebox, Alison Hammond watching The Price Of Perfection: 'Imagine going to sleep fat and waking up thin.' And miss your fifties? I wouldn't, Al. RANDOM TV IRRITATIONS RANDOM TV irritations: Love Island's half- German flight attendant Helena replying 'I don't know' to the question: 'Where's Austria?' Good Morning Britain imbeciles captioning a famous 1980s toy as the: 'Rubix cube'. BBC1's normally superb Gabby Logan turning into a seven-year-old child with the observation: 'Two more sleeps until the Wales- England game.' And Wimbledon commentators getting a throb on for the tournament's celebrity flotsam. A practice which should've ended long before Andrew Castle debased himself with the words: 'A lovely royal box there. 'That was Nick Clegg, our former Deputy Prime Minister.' THIS WEEK'S HERO TV hero of the week. The bloke who spent eight days on Weymouth beach turning 30 tonnes of sand into a life-size sculpture of Ben Shephard, Cat Deeley and the This Morning set who was then asked: 'How do you feel?' Very relieved Eamonn isn't still hosting, I'd imagine. LOOKALIKE OF THE WEEK 9 'Human Barbie Doll' Alicia Amira, left, and the Test Card clown, right Credit: Supplied THIS week's winner is 'Human Barbie Doll' Alicia Amira, off ITV2's Price Of Perfection, and the Test Card clown. Sent in by Ewen Davidson, of Hoddesdon, Herts. WITH all of its sly talk about 'diversity,' 'climate change,' and 'migration,' BBC2's anthropological series Human was already giving me the uneasy feeling it was using the past to spread propaganda about the present. 9 Ella Al-Shamahi hosting BBC2's anthropological series Human Credit: BBC Then host Ella Al-Shamahi, right, said: 'Six million years before Homo sapiens appeared, some primates left the trees, they started walking upright and began using stone tools. These tool-makers became . . .' Click. Bloody Keir Starmer. TV GOLD 9 Noel Edmonds invited the Prime Minister of New Zealand to dinner on the final episode of ITV's Kiwi Adventure who was 'busy' Credit: PA CHANNEL 4's reliably brilliant 24 Hours In Police Custody: Lost Boys. Sky Documentaries' over-long but incredibly touching Jayne Mansfield tribute My Mom Jayne. BBC2's Live Aid at 40 concert footage confirming Queen's show-stopping performance was every bit as mesmerising as the legend suggests. And Noel Edmonds going 'full Brent' on the final episode of ITV's Kiwi Adventure, where he invited the Prime Minister of New Zealand to dinner (he was 'busy'), speculated that he may have been a dolphin in a previous life and then assured his wife Liz, while sat in a hot tub, that she was 'one of the three most important things' in his life, ahead of 'helicopters and topiary'. You spoil that woman, Noel.
Irish Independent
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Independent
Shark! Celebrity Infested Waters is bizarre but unexpectedly moving reality TV
There's just no getting around it. When you first read the concept for ITV's Shark! Celebrity Infested Waters (Mondays, 9pm), it sounds like an idea dredged from the depths of Alan Partridge's dictaphone, something to be filed away alongside Youth Hostelling with Chris Eubank rather than commissioned by a legitimate real-life broadcaster.
Scottish Sun
15-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Scottish Sun
Watch the moment shocked star is BITTEN on Shark! Celebrity Infested Waters
THIS is the moment a shocked star was bitten by a shark in the first episode of ITV's brand new series. Shark! Celebrity Infested Waters sees seven famous faces embark on a dive expedition to The Bahamas. 5 Seven celebrities are taking part in the new show 5 Lenny Henry spots a shark swimming close by behind him Credit: ITV 5 The sharks were right by their feet Credit: ITV 5 This is the moment Ross was bitten While the turquoise waters look inviting, they are actually known for being home to the shark capital of the world. Taking on the challenge is Sir Lenny Henry, Call the Midwife's Helen George, McFly's Dougie Poynter, comedian Ross Noble, Countdown's Rachel Riley, presenter Ade Adepitan and Motherhood star Lucy Punch. They are lead on their expedition by shark experts including Dr. Tristan Guttridge, and at one point, he takes the celebrities to an area in the Bahamas known for its Lemon Sharks. Dr. Tristan tells the celebrities that as they stand in the waist height water, they need to remain still, and even if the sharks nudge into them, the key is not to panic. The stars enter the water in small groups so as not to cause too much alarm to the sharks. Comedian Ross, 49, describes the creatures as "peaceful" and while he agrees, Dr. Tristan then adds: "Of all the sharks I've ever worked with, it's the only one I've ever been bitten by." Moments later, a larger shark picks up the scent of the bait box in the bait box near the celebrities, and breaches the water with a fish in its mouth, causing them to be on high alert. Indeed, the Lemon sharks then start to get a bit more "excited" and with the sea bed being churned up by their faster movements, a shark suddenly butts into Ross's ankle and bites him. The funnyman staggers a bit in the water prompting the others to ask: "What happened?" In a very calm voice, Ross replies: "A shark just bit me." Shark! Celebrity Infested Waters In a voiceover, it's explained that the shark had "an exploratory bite" after Ross didn't move when it bumped into his leg. Dr. Tristan then decides that because the sharks are getting "a bit jumpy" they should slowly move back to the boat. Thankfully, the bite is more of a nibble and Ross jokes that he is "lucky to be alive". But with high drama already in the first episode, what else will the celebrities face when they head below the waves later in the series? Shark! Celebrity Infested Waters starts tonight, Monday July 14 at 9pm on ITV1.
