Shirley Ballas' mum feared for her daughter's life on Celebrity Bear Hunt
Shirley Ballas says that her mother Audrey Rich refused to speak to her when she learned that she would be taking part in the Netflix show 'Celebrity Bear Hunt'.
Shirley Ballas' mum feared she would lose another child when her daughter signed up for 'Celebrity Bear Hunt'.
The 64-year-old dancer's brother David Rich took his own life in 2003 aged 44 after struggles with depression, and with Shirley and 11 other celebrities being dropped into a Costa Rican jungle for the new Netflix series, it left her mother Audrey Rich fearing that she would catch a fatal illness or be eaten by a crocodile.
The 'Strictly Come Dancing' head judge exclusively told BANG Showbiz on behalf of WhichBingo: "When I got asked to do it, my mother wouldn't speak to me for a week, she just wasn't speaking.
"She said, 'I've lost one child, I don't want to lose another. What if you get bit by a snake, what if you get eaten by a crocodile? Or what if you get malaria, and I'm not there to help?'
"But, afterwards when I told her, you know my age - and all my life, I've only worked and taught dancing.
"So now with the job, you get to do charity work, you get to go to different places and meet different people."
Despite dubbing the experience as "electrifyingly terrifying", Shirley wanted to show off her inner action hero on the show.
She added: "I just thought this would be a challenge of a lifetime, and that's why I took it.
"I wanted to test myself. I wanted to be that GI. Jane, you know. I wanted to be that person.
"There is that person inside us all - that action hero, and I think everybody wants to be that at some point in their life."
The programme - which sees the stars become "prey" for Bear Grylls and complete gruelling challenges while running away from the 50-year-old adventurer - is available to stream on Netflix from Wednesday (05.02.25) and Audrey will be sitting down on the sofa with a glass of bubbly to watch what her daughter got up to last summer.
Asked if she would also be tuning in, Shirley said: "I certainly will.
"Maybe my mother will have a whisky on the rocks - and we shall celebrate the fact I came home alive, not eaten by a snake!
"Electrifyingly terrifying - that's what I'll say!"
However, the dancing sensation has warned viewers to prepare themselves for a fright.
She teased: "It's going to make you jump - a bit like that horror movie 'Scream'.
"Prepare yourself!"
'Celebrity Bear Hunt' is available to stream now on Netflix.
