Mel B, Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen and Boris Becker are three stars you probably didn’t expect to see together in one place – let alone in a Costa Rican jungle, running away from Bear Grylls.
But no, you’re not in a fever dream, that really is the premise of Netflix’s extreme new competition series, Celebrity Bear Hunt.
Presented by Holly Willougby, the show – out on 5 February – sees 12 stars learning survival skills and joining a brutal game of cat and mouse where they’ll be hunted down by Grylls and, if captured, face elimination from the show.
Judging from the trailer, they’ll be facing snakes, terrifying heights and choppy waters out in the wilderness.
Meet the full lineup below…
Leomie Anderson
The 31-year-old model and TV host rose to fame walking the catwalks for Victoria’s Secret. She has also hosted the TV show Glow Up: Britain’s Next Make-Up star and started her own podcast, Role Model with Leomie Anderson, as well as campaigning as a women’s rights activist.
Mel B
Mel B aka Scary Spice was in the best-selling female band of all time – the Spice Girls – from 1994 to their split in 2000, with the band reuniting for tours in 2007 and a performance at the Olympis closing ceremony in London in 2012. The 49-year-old is no stranger to TV, having competed on US show Dancing with the Stars and appeared as a judge on The X Factor and America’s Got Talent. In her memoir, Brutally Honest, she opened up about her abusive marriage.
Shirley Ballas
Ballas, 64, is used to putting other celebrities under pressure in her role as head judge on Strictly, but now the tables have turned. The former ballroom dancer has also competed on The Masked Singer, and she works with the mental health charity CALM.
Boris Becker
The 57-year-old is regarded as one of the best tennis players the world has ever seen, and he has won Wimbledon for his home country of Germany three times across his career. Since he stopped playing, Becker has become a tennis commentator and media personality. In 2002, he was given a suspended two-year prison sentence for tax evasion. He declared bankruptcy the UK in 2017.
Kola Bokinni
You might have seen Bokinni, 32, in Ted Lasso, playing Isaac McAdoo, the captain of AFC Richmond. He has also appeared in Black Mirror and Top Boy. He is no stranger to competition shows, having starred in the last series of Celebrity Race Across the World.
Danny Cipriani
The former rugby player, now 37, has been capped for England 16 times. He officially retired from the sport last year. While he had a natural talent on the pitch, off-pitch problems were a common theme of his career. Cipriani was convicted for drunk-driving after a collision in 2015.
Zuhair Hassan (AKA Big Zuu)
Big Zuu is a 29-year-old TV chef and rapper, best known for presenting the Bafta-winning show Big Zuu’s Big Eats. He also presented Big Zuu’s Breakfast Show on Sunday mornings throughout the spring and summer of 2022 and, last year, presented Big Zuu Goes to Mecca, a documentary about his Umrah pilgrimage to Mecca.
Una Healy
The Irish singer-songwriter, 43, rose to fame as a member of girlband The Saturdays. Healy was a member of the group from 2007 until 2014 and they achieved 13 Top 10 hits and four Top 10 albums. She also has a solo music career, and has appeared as a judge on The Voice of Ireland.
Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen
The 59-year-old is swapping the plush world of interior design for the wilderness, after years of fronting Changing Rooms – a series where people swap houses with friends or neighbours and decorate each other’s homes. The flamboyant presenter has also appeared on shows such as Popstar to Operastar, The Apartment and DIY SOS: The Big Build.
Steph McGovern
TV presenter and journalist McGovern, 42, is best known for her daytime food show Steph’s Packed Lunch. She was a contestant in the second series of The Masked Dancer and she also hosts The Rest Is Money podcast with her friend Robert Peston.
Lottie Moss
Moss, 27, is the younger half-sister of supermodel Kate Moss. She hosts her own podcast, Dream On, in which she has recently shared a horrifying story of using weight loss drug Ozempic. She has also previously opened up about spending time in rehab for substance abuse issues.
Joe Thomas
Best known for playing the dorky Simon Cooper in The Inbetweeners, Thomas, now 41, has also starred in Fresh Meat and White Gold. He was in the latter with his other The Inbetweeners co-star James Buckley. In 2023, he appeared as a contestant on Great British Bake Off: Stand up to Cancer.
Celebrity Bear Hunt begins on Netflix on 5 February 2025.
