Shark! Celebrity Infested Waters viewers took aim at Helen George last night (Monday, July 14) during the ITV show’s premiere.
The new show sees a group of celebrities face their fears as they go swimming with sharks in the Bahamas.
What happened to Helen George on Shark! Celebrity Infested Waters?
Last night saw seven familiar faces travel to the Bahamas to face their deepest shark-related fears and go swimming with them.
The star-studded cast includes Helen George, Rachel Riley, Lenny Henry, Dougie Poynter, Ross Noble, Lucy Punch and Ade Adepitan.
The celebs all have varying degrees of fear regarding sharks and water. Call The Midwife star Helen admitted she is terrified of putting her head under water, let alone swimming with the sharks.
“I have a fear of the sea,” the Strictly star said at the start of the episode. “Probably been up to my knees in the last 20 years. What am I doing here?”
The star later confessed that her fear of being underwater stemmed from an incident as a child. She revealed that she was swimming underwater when big foam mats were thrown into the pool, right on top of where she was trying to surface. The panic she felt has stayed with her since.
Helen’s swim with the sharks
Helen’s fear was palpable before she even got in the water. As the Call the Midwife star listened to the shark experts (one of whom had lost an arm and a leg in a shark attack) talk about the “majestic” sharks they’d be swimming with, the actress was barely holding back her tears.
Helen explained that she was surprised they were going to be going down underwater in a cage to be near some sharks. She also explained to an expert that she wants to be able to go into the sea with her children, because at the moment she’s not able to due to her fears.
Before the stars went in the cage, they had to get used to breathing with the scuba diving gear. However, a tearful Helen admitted she was “hating” the experience.
“I feel deeply pathetic and disappointed in myself. Sort of embarrassed, I guess,” she confessed.
When it was Helen’s time to go into the cage, it’s safe to say the star panicked. The star was seriously worried that her feet were going to be bitten by the sharks. After watching the sharks for a bit, the star pleaded: “I want to get out! I want to get out, please!”
Helen George slammed by Shark! viewers
Returning to dry land, Helen sank to her knees and cried, apologising to the expert and explaining that she’d been scared to come out of the cage due to her fear that the sharks would bite her.
Luckily, she wasn’t – but Ross Noble did actually get nipped by a shark during last night’s show!
Viewers were less than impressed with Helen’s antics during the programme and made their feelings very clear on social media.
“Helen George is putting me off watching the next series of Call the Midwife. Not doing herself any favours,” one viewer fumed.
“Was looking forward to this program, but can’t watch it, because of Helen, she’s an attention seeker,” another tweeted.
“Oh [bleep] off, Helen,” a third snapped. “Helen George has made this unwatchable. It’s all about me me me,” another grumbled.
However, there was some support for the star. “I can already see that @helen_george is starting to go for it even though she is scared. You can see she is the one out of them all that this is going to benefit the most, as she can enjoy the sea and water with her kids,” one viewer tweeted.
Some viewers took to Helen’s Instagram to praise her too. “Watching you right now on your first dive!! So brave!! I equally fear but love sharks and would love to do this- you did so well,” one gushed.
“You were absolutely amazing!!! You faced your fears and should be so proud!! Fabulous show!!!” another said.
Read more: Call The Midwife’s Helen George is already making memories with new boyfriend
Shark! Celebrity Infested Waters continues on Monday, July 21 at 9pm on ITV1 and ITVX.
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