Celebrity Bear Hunt divides critics as reviews call it 'a hit' and 'half-baked'

Netflix's new celebrity challenge show fronted by Bear Grylls and Holly Willoughby has split opinion amongst TV critics.

Holly Willoughby and Bear Grylls host Celebrity Bear Hunt. (Netflix)
Celebrity Bear Hunt has divided critics. (Netflix)

Holly Willoughby and Bear Grylls' much-anticipated series Celebrity Bear Hunt has dropped on Netflix — but early reviews are divided over whether it's "the best new reality TV series in years", or simply "bad TV".

Celebrity Bear Hunt drops 12 famous contestants into the Costa Rican jungle where they're split into two teams who will have to put survival skills to use as they're hunted down by adventurer Grylls.

It marks a career reinvention for host Willoughby after quitting This Morning in 2023, and features stars including Mel B, Shirley Ballas, Boris Becker and Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen trying to outsmart their pursuer.

Critics agree it's a crazy concept — but they are divided on whether or not it works.

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Bear Grylls and Holly Willoughby host Celebrity Bear Hunt (Netflix)
Bear Grylls and Holly Willoughby host Celebrity Bear Hunt. (Netflix)

Plenty of reviewers loved the new Netflix series after watching the first couple of episodes ahead of the launch, and were gripped by where it would go next.

One fan of the new show was Yahoo columnist Ian Hyland, who wrote: "If you’ve ever wondered what it would look like if someone made a TV show that was a cross between I’m A Celebrity, Celebrity SAS, The Hunger Games and a class of Year 4 kids playing hide and seek in the woods at Center Parcs, then wonder no more: Netflix and Holly Willoughby have you covered.

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"They’re taking us on a Celebrity Bear Hunt in the Costa Rican jungle, with 'one of the world's most fearsome predators', Bear Grylls. Having watched the first two episodes ahead of this Wednesday’s full series drop, I’d say the most surprising news about this bizarre, back-of-a-cigarette-packet idea is that Netflix could well have a hit on their hands."

Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen gets into trouble on Celebrity Bear Hunt. (Netflix)
Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen gets into trouble in the water. (Netflix)

Agreeing that Celebrity Bear Hunt is a must-see, Lucy Mangan wrote for The Guardian: "I haven’t had this much fun watching a reality TV competition since the earliest days of I’m a Celebrity … Get Me out of Here!."

She added: "Netflix has overall done its job well. Celebrity Bear Hunt is fast, the contestants are surprisingly funny and the jeopardy – if the third episode’s trailer and tabloid reports of the injuries and near-misses during filming are anything to go by – is real. Or at least more real than usual. The trap is set and I suspect viewers will take the bait in droves."

Over at Metro, Adam Miller gave the show glowing praise: "Don’t let the juvenile title of Holly Willougby’s new show put you off – Celebrity Bear Hunt is surprisingly one of the best new reality TV series in years."

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He added: "Celebrity Bear Hunt does feel immediately like the most enthralling new reality television series in a very long time though. It’s a lovable cast with a game that provides enough risk and tension to drive the hunger for more after each episode.

"I felt a bit indifferent to hearing about Celebrity Bear Hunt but after watching three episodes (one, two and eight), I’m incredibly invested in watching the rest."

Celebrity Bear Hunt 2025 (Netflix)
Not every viewer was convinced by the cast's bond. (Netflix)

There are few TV shows that manage to unite critics in praise, so unsurprisingly Celebrity Bear Hunt wasn't a hit with every reviewer.

In a scathing review for The Telegraph, Chris Bennion called it "a lukewarm rehash of several other TV shows – mainly I’m a Celebrity – in which half-familiar celebs wash dishes in a jungle before taking part in a series of corporate away-day team-building exercises. It’s as high-octane as doing your tax return (with none of the tension)."

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He also argued that it would have been better to go for a non-celebrity cast, saying: "Absolutely nothing about the show works. There is no jeopardy, there are no stakes."

Holly Willoughby - Celebrity Bear Hunt 2025 (Netflix)
Holly Willoughby takes a new TV direction with Celebrity Bear Hunt. (Netflix)

Bennion added: "So little happens you may as well be watching doorbell camera footage...Holly Willoughby hosts, in her first new gig since leaving This Morning. If she was hoping for a quiet reintroduction to the public, she has chosen very, very well."

Nick Hilton at The Independent complained: "Celebrity Bear Hunt demonstrates a misunderstanding of the British public’s televisual interests...We want to see (celebrities) dance elegantly; we want to see them eat an ostrich anus. What we don’t want is to see them making half-hearted small talk, followed by a highly choreographed, zero jeopardy, set piece. If Netflix executives had watched Grylls’s previous celeb survival format – Celebrity Island with Bear Grylls – they would’ve understood this.

"Instead, Celebrity Bear Hunt is kitsch without being camp, and overcooked where it ought to be raw."

Celebrity Bear Hunt (Netflix)
Some critics complained there was 'no jeopardy'. (Netflix)

Meanwhile, Miranda Collinge at Esquire didn't think the show was great — but admitted she still wanted to see more: "If The Traitors is glorified wink murder, Celebrity Bear Hunt is glorified hide-and-seek, and yes, it’s about as thrilling and jeopardous as that sounds," she wrote.

"Is Celebrity Bear Hunt a good show? Categorically it is not. The format is over-complicated and confusing, the suspense half-baked...But does that mean I won’t be watching the remaining 10 episodes? Gracious no! They’ve already previewed clips of Big Zuu breaking his bed and Lottie Moss calling someone grumpy. Celebrity Bear Hunt is the kind of zero-stakes celebrity ordeal these February nights were made for and so we, too, have got to go through it."

Celebrity Bear Hunt is streaming now on Netflix.