Shirley Ballas, 64, shares mum’s brutal three-word verdict on star’s Netflix survival series stint: ‘Don’t do it’
Shirley Ballas has opened up on what her mother thinks of her taking part in Holly Willoughby’s new Netflix show – Celebrity Bear Hunt.
The show also stars Bear Grylls and will see a group of famous faces battling the elements in the Costa Rican jungle and taking on some terrifying tasks as Grylls “hunts” them.
The celebrities taking part also include Spice Girl Mel B, Ted Lasso actor Kola Bokinni, model Leomie Anderson, presenter Steph McGovern, The Inbetweeners star Joe Thomas, and tennis player Boris Becker.
Rugby star Danny Cipriani, TV chef Big Zuu, The Saturdays singer Una Healy, Kate Moss’s sister and model Lottie Moss and TV interior designer Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen are also joining the show.
Ballas previously teased her involvement in the show and said on Instagram: “I have done many wild things in my life but I have never hunted celebrities.
“The celebrities won’t come out of this the same,” leaving Willoughby to add: “I don’t think they knew what they were signing up for.”
Some of the gruelling tasks include the celebrities attempting to cross a rope bridge with missing slats which span across a huge gorge.
The Rumba Queen recently opened up about why she agreed to take part in the show and revealed the savage response she received from her mother.
Speaking to Radio Times, she said: “When I first got asked to do it, I talked to my mother. She said, ‘Don’t do it! You’re too old! It’s too far away! You’re going to get bitten by a snake or a spider.
“But I thought, why not put myself so far out of my comfort zone that people think, ‘Is she mad?’ I was the eldest there, by the way.
“Boris Becker and I, we were like Mum and Dad. But Bear Grylls believes we’ve all got an action hero inside us. I think I found that in myself.”
Discussing what it’s like being hunted in the Bear Pit, she admitted it was a “strange” feeling to be hunted by a professional.
The new Netflix series has been labelled the ultimate survival challenge, but there seems to be a fair amount of personal drama thrown in too.
The group appear to be sharing a living space in the middle of the jungle, and the trailer suggests tensions flare between the celebs at some points.
Grylls recently opened up on how surprised he was about how stuck in Willoughby got throughout the filming of the eight-parter.
He said: “I’ve learned over this show that she is much smarter, savvier, tougher than she looks — and do not be fooled by that nice exterior. I’m not, and I tell her this often.
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“Holly always says, ‘I would be terrible if I was a contestant. I’d die. I’d just sit in a bush and cry’. But I’m suspicious of that
“Holly is also dreamy and so easy to work with. Non-ego. You know, I knew we were going to be in the jungle.
“I knew it was going to be a tough environment, and I needed somebody with real grace.”