SHARK! Celebrity Infested Waters on ITV is unlike any reality show you will have seen before.

Seven celebrities are set to confront their fears by coming face-to-face with the man-eating creatures for the new series.

The show has been billed as an “entertainment and wildlife crossover” and it coincides with the 50th anniversary of the blockbuster movie Jaws.

There will be tears and screams as the ocean-phobic stars are challenged each week to dive with bigger and more dangerous sharks. But there is an important message, too…

The show’s creators also hope SHARK! Celebrity Infested Waters will teach viewers about the importance sharks have in the world’s ecosystem.

Karen Plumb, Head of Factual Entertainment and Executive Producer, says: “We’re constantly looking for innovative approaches to wildlife storytelling and are certain that our fish-out-of-water spin – delivering 50 years after Jaws – will transform the world’s perception of these critical predators before it’s too late.”

Celebrity line-up of SHARK! Celebrity Infested Waters

ITV’s casting team thought carefully about which stars to pick for SHARK! Celebrity Infested Waters. Karen admitted: “We wanted people who were eloquent, very well recognised and able to go on an authentic journey.”

As a result, Comic Relief founder Sir Lenny Henry will be coming nose-to-nose with nature’s “villains”, along with Call The Midwife actress Helen George.

Helen is best know for playing Nurse Beatrix ‘Trixie’  Franklin in the BBC drama.

Lucy Punch, who stars as Amanda Hughes in Motherland and spin-0ff Amandaland, will also be facing her fears.

Countdown’s Rachel Riley was so concerned about being on the show she reportedly wrote her will before taking part.

McFly star Dougie Poynter, TV presenter and wheelchair basketball player Ade Adepitan, and comedian Ross Noble complete the line-up. 

Who hosts the SHARK! Celebrity Infested Waters? Where is it set?

SHARK! Celebrity Infested Waters was filmed on the island of Bimini in the Bahamas.

The ocean surrounding the island is home to seven to 10 different shark species, including Hammerheads, Bull sharks and Tiger sharks.

And rather than plump for famous presenters, ITV has taken the unusual step of bringing in three experts to host the series.

First up is Science Communicator and Speaker, Danni Washington. Danni hails from Florida and is also an ocean activist and campaigner.

The celebs will also be under the guidance of  Shark Biologist Tristan Guttridge and shark attack survivor, Paul de Gelder.

Paul, a former member of the Australian Navy, lost his right hand and leg to a shark during a military training exercise. He is now a motivational speaker.

What is the twist in the first episode?

On Day One, the celebrities think they will be beginning their shark encounters by meeting some fairly harmless stingrays. But the experts have a shock in store for them…

After stepping foot off the plane, the gang learn they are about to meet a deadly Bull Shark.

“Shark encounters are at the heart of what we’re doing,” Karen says in a promo for the show.

“Our celebrities started with small sharks and they built up. But obviously we wanted to start the show with a bit of a bang and give the audience a sense of what’s to come.

“We were able, almost as soon as the celebs stepped off the plane, to put them in a cage with one of the most frightening sharks on the planet – the bull shark.”

The encounter was said to have “scared the bejesus” out of them.

When is the start date? How many episodes are there?

SHARK! Celebrity Infested Waters starts on Monday, July 14, 2025 at 9pm on ITV1.

It will then air weekly on Mondays at the same time.

The series comprises of five hour-long episodes. The entire series will be uploaded to ITVX once the first instalment has aired.

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SHARK! Celebrity Infested Waters starts on Monday, July 14, 2025 at 9pm on ITV1.