Who needs Ant and Dec? Netf lix lures Holly back into the jungle for new show
HOLLY Willoughby has signed a lucrative deal with Netflix to host a jungle-based reality show, the Mail can reveal.
The presenter, 43 – who quit ITV’s This Morning last October – will appear alongside survival expert Bear Grylls, 49, as the host of Bear Hunt.
Described by insiders as a more challenging version of the BBC’s Survivor, the show will see celebrity contestants being chased by Grylls in the South American jungle.
Produced by his company, it is Ms Willoughby’s first presenting gig away from British terrestrial television.
One source said: ‘It’s such an exciting, fresh series and of course a great challenge for Holly. It’s a great opportunity for her.’
Ms Willoughby will begin filming the programme later in the year. It is expected to air in 2025.
Netflix bosses are said to be ‘ecstatic’ that they have been able to hire Ms Willoughby. One said: ‘Holly was their woman for this project from the word go. They are absolutely delighted to have got her to sign on the line.’
And they added: ‘Hopefully there will be many more opportunities to work with her down the line, too.’
This latest role comes just days after Cat Deeley replaced Ms Willoughby on This Morning – five months after she announced her departure. Former children’s presenter Ms Deeley now fronts the show with Ben Shephard.
The exotic surroundings will come as no shock to Ms Willoughby as she hosted I’m A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! alongside Declan Donnelly, 48, in 2018. Her performance was hailed as a huge success – which came about after regular presenter Ant McPartlin, 48, admitted himself into rehab for alcohol and painkiller addictions.
Ms Willoughby also hosted BBC’s Freeze The Fear with Dutch extreme athlete Wim Hof, 64, in 2022.
News of her latest role comes just days after The Mail on Sunday revealed that ITV has offered her a lucrative new contract to host next year’s billing of Dancing On Ice.
Ms Willoughby is set to accept the deal having enjoyed hosting the latest series alongside close friend and colleague Stephen Mulhern, 46. A show source added: ‘Holly really loved it this year, she found it really fun and enjoyable.’
The presenter quit This Morning in October – having spent 14 years appearing on the daytime favourite – after a terrifying alleged plot to kidnap and murder her emerged. Former security guard Gavin Plumb, 36, will appear in court in June after pleading not guilty to
‘A great opportunity for her’
the charge last November.
Ms Willoughby’s departure followed former co-host Phillip Schofield’s admission to the Mail that he had lied about having a relationship with a much younger colleague.
In a statement, the 61-year-old said he was ‘deeply sorry’ for lying about the romance to ITV, his colleagues, friends and agents.
He added: ‘I did have a consensual onoff relationship with a younger male colleague at This Morning.
‘Contrary to speculation, while I met the man when he was a teenager and was asked to help him to get into television, it was only after he started to work on the show that it became more than just a friendship.
‘That relationship was unwise, but not illegal. It is now over.’