I am slithering across the forest floor, stealthily, silently, like a pit viper perhaps? Although β further honesty alert! Shadow, silhouette and shine are also no-nos, some of which Grylls himself helped with by rubbing dirt on my face.
Time for some explanation. Twelve celebs β including a Spice Girl, a Saturday, a Strictly judge, an Inbetweener and a former tennis player β are holed up in a beach house on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica.
After instruction from Grylls, they are given tasks β build a shelter, jump off a moving boat, that kind of thing. If they fail, they get released into the Bear Pit, an area of terrifying and dangerous jungle, where they must evade capture as Grylls hunts them down. Netflix has invited a few journalists and influencers I like to think I straddle the genres to Costa Rica during filming, to try a task, have a chat with the main man, and β crucially β experience a Bear Hunt.
I know, a long way to go for a stunt, and there are questions about whether it warrants the flight. I remember a few days in Santa Rosa national park on the Pacific coast, watching turtles lay eggs on the beach, sharks cruising in the river mouth, crocodiles fishing in the shallows. Flamboyant room-changer LLB is also a contestant. The camp is lovely, like a rustic yoga retreat.
To be fair, the show does sound fun. Millions of Netflix dollars, a crew of We visit some mudflats for a task β dismantle a shelter, then build it again. No, first a briefing from the health and safety team. Things to watch out for: snakes, spiders, scorpions, ticks, death apple trees β¦ bloody hell, it is beginning to sound ominous. We put on helmets and harnesses, and a veteran named Scottie in full combat gear leads us into the Bear Pit. We walk for a few yards and pause by a map.
