Meet the new celebrity contestants of Bear Grylls: Mission Survive


February 23, 2016
celebs © Photo: ITV

Seven celebrities battle through the wilds of Southern Africa on an uncompromising 12 day survival expedition. They are pushed to their psychological and physical limits to see who has the heroic qualities needed to become Bear's Mission Survivor.

Meet this year's celebrity contestants...

Alex Scott © Photo: ITV

Alex Scott, 31, English footballer

Strengths and weaknesses: "I think my football background will help with my mental strength. I'm quite bubbly and outgoing, I get on well with other people. I'm always dancing and singing so I might help to raise spirits! My weakness will probably be the fact I'm frightened of heights."

What creature comforts with you miss? "A glass of wine! Being warm. I'm used to being away but I like my sleep so I might find the lack of sleep quite hard."

Do you want to win? "Oh yes! For myself, but also for women's football. I really want to promote the sport and show people what we do. But mostly, I just want to enjoy this amazing experience. I don't know about eating the crazy stuff, but everything else sounds brilliant."

© Photo: ITV

Chelsee Healey, 27, actress

Strengths and weaknesses? "I think because of my age, I do stuff without realising quite how dangerous it is. I give everything a go without a second thought. So I think that mind set will help me a lot. My weakness will be freaking out about creepie crawlies. I don't like them."

Is there anything you would refuse to do? "I don't know. I'm quite claustrophobic so if I had to go through a small tunnel, I would find that very hard. I would hope that with a bit of encouragement and some good advice and preparation, I'd be willing to do anything."

What creature comforts will you miss? "Definitely my phone. Like most people these days, I have my phone glued to my hand most of the time. And my bed, my family, and nice food. All the usual things."

What are you hoping to gain from the experience? "Strength! I hope the experience will make me feel stronger because I'll realise that I can actually do the things I didn't think I could do. I think I will come home afterwards and realise that I don't actually need those little luxuries that we have in day to day life."

© Photo: ITV

Jason Gardiner, 44, choreographer

Strengths and weaknesses: "I do something 100%, or I don't do it at all. I've lived in many different countries and I'm very adaptable. I'm also strong willed. I was bullied as a child, so it means I can be resilient, light hearted and laugh at myself."

Do you have any fears? "I have a healthy fear from growing up in Australia of all things slippery and hairy and nasty. You learn from a young age what to do to avoid being bitten. In fact, part of the reason I left Australia was because I was so sick of having to check my shoes for spiders every morning."

What creature comforts will you miss? "I have the best bed in the world. I had it custom built, and it's incredible. So I will definitely miss that. Other than that, I'm pretty low maintenance. I can do without most things."

© Photo: ITV

Michelle Collins, 53, actress

Strengths and weaknesses? "I don't give up easily. I'm certainly not a lazy person. I'm 53 so I'm one of the oldest but I'd like to prove women like me can go out and do that stuff. I think it's showing people we're still strong and we can still do it. Weaknesses? I can get a bit moody sometimes and a bit withdrawn."

What creature comforts will you miss? "Having no phone will be hard, but also liberating. I'm not the sort of person who takes endless selfies or anything. But being out of contact and not speaking to my daughter will be hard. I'm going to miss radio and music. I do have the radio on all the time, but I think it will be good for me to enjoy the silence."

What are you hoping to gain from the experience? "I'm looking forward to learning new skills and challenging myself. I'd like to be rejuvenated, almost -­‐ born again, if that doesn't sound too weird."

© Photo: ITV

Neil Morrisey, 53, actor

Strengths and weaknesses: "I can cook on anything that gives me heat. A camp fire shouldn't be too difficult to build, I've done that before, although it depends if the kindling is dry. I'm a 'glass half full' sort of a person. I like to find a solution and come up with ideas, and I'm reasonably level headed. I will try not to make any of the usual mistakes, I will keep my feet dry and try not to lose any equipment. But I think the difficulty will be keeping my pecker up, especially when we're not eating and we're exhausted. On day three, when I want to cheerfully strangle three of my fellow campmates, I can't just go to a different bar and ignore them."

What creature comforts will you miss? "I'm not bothered about not having a phone or a TV. I suppose I'll miss glasses of wine and juicy steaks, but it's only for two weeks. You'll be able to see the light at the end of the tunnel. I just can't wait for the adventure -­‐ to hear lions roaring while you're sleeping outdoors."

Do you want to win? "I am competitive, but I don't really see this as a win-­‐lose scenario. It's just a great experience. I am looking forward to going on a voyage of learning. If I do win, it will be by chance."

© Photo: ITV

Samantha Barks, 25, actress

Strengths and weaknesses: "I'm so excited about the process, I know I'm not going to be the strongest or the fittest. I'm sure there will be some wonderfully fit people there. But I'm just going to keep a strong head and be as positive as I can. I like learning and pushing myself."

What creature comforts will you miss? "My phone. I'm always travelling, and it connects me to the people I love. My family and I have a big online family album where we post our pictures when we're miles apart, so I'll find it difficult not to be able to access that. And I'm afraid I do flick my phone on all the time when I'm bored, just to look at pictures of puppies! But it'll be refreshing to not have it with me."

Would you like to win? "Of course, I would love to. I don't think I'm massively competitive, but people who have played charades with me might disagree! My competitiveness probably won't kick in until later down the line. Initially, I'll just want to do a good job and make sure everyone's okay in the team."

© Photo: ITV

Stuart Pearce, 53, English football manager and player

Strengths and weaknesses? "My strength will be working within the team environment. I've done that my whole life. I'm very used to putting the team before myself. My weakness will be getting hungry and being affected by not eating enough. I do like my food."

What creature comforts will you miss? "My partner, visiting a coffee shop and having a bit of a cake. And a bed to sleep in. I love my sleep."

Do you want to win? "My mentality is this -­‐ I just want to experience every day. I don't want to go out early. I'm not hell bent on winning but I would like to get to the end. I'd like to do the duration, but not at any cost. I'll do my best and I'll help others."

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