Shark! Celebrity Infested Waters: Full line-up for ITV's newest reality show including - what is it about?

The new series will follow seven celebrities as they are challenged with facing their fears of the wide open water and what is often believed to be its deadliest predator - sharks.

Coinciding with the 50th anniversary of the legendary film Jaws, Shark! Celebrity Infested Waters will not only offer an opportunity for the celebrity participants to conquer their fears, but also to show that the underwater creatures don’t quite carry the reputation they gained from the iconic blockbuster flick...

Here’s everything you need to know about the cast of Shark! Celebrity Infested Waters.

Who is on Shark! Celebrity Infested Waters?

The new ITV show features a star-studded line-up heading underwater to conquer the sea. The seven celebrities taking part in the show are:

Sir Lenny Henry

Legendary comedian and actor Sir Lenny Henry joins the show as part of the celebrity team aiming to swim with the sharks. He is grew to fame in the late 1970s and early 1980s as a stand-up comic and eventually landed his own show, The Lenny Henry Show, in 1984. He went on to co-found Comic Relief in 1986 with screenwriter Richard Curtis and lead its biennial telethon fundraisers until 2024.

Speaking about joining the show, Sir Lenny said: “When the question was put to me, 'Would you like to go on an adventure of ecology and exploration involving sharks?' I didn’t have that cartoon special effect where my eyeballs jumped out of my head. I actually considered it and thought, 'Actually, I’d love to do that.'”

Dougie Poynter

Dougie Poynter is best-known to McFly fans, having served as the po-rock band’s bassist since its formation in 2003. Having topped the UK singles chart seven times with McFly, Dougie and band members Danny Jones, Tom Fletcher and Harry Judd are noughties and 2010s music icons. In 2011, the musician won the 11th series of I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here.

Dougie said that his decision to join Shark! Celebrity Infested Waters came as he came to the realisation that he should “do more stuff with nature”. He said: "I feel connected, back to what I think we actually are, just creatures of Earth, without sounding cheesy. I'm sharing the planet with all these other things that are way more fascinating than myself."

Lucy Punch

Actress Lucy Punch recently delighted viewers with her Motherland spin-off sitcom Amandaland, which is poised for a second series after drawing in millions of viewers. Lucy has also appeared in films such as Bad Teacher and Hot Fuzz.

She said she was “really excited” about joining Shark! Celebrity Infested Waters and described it as a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity”, adding: "It has an important message, and while traditional wildlife shows are preaching to the converted, the entertainment element of a show like this on ITV makes it family viewing and brings a whole new audience.”

Ade Adepitan

TV presenter and wheelchair basketball star Ade Adepitan is another heading into shark-infested waters. Ade has fronted travel documentaries and sports programmes for the BBC and has been part of Paralympic and Invictus Games coverage on both the BBC and Channel 4. He also represented Great Britain at the 2004 Summer Paralympics in wheelchair basketball, during which he won a bronze medal.

Ade revealed that the message at the heart of Shark! Celebrity Infested Waters convinced him to sign up for the show, saying: "I'm a big environmentalist too, so there was an important message also at the heart of the programme.”

Helen George

Call the Midwife actress Helen George is swapping the maternity ward for shark-infested waters as she joins the new ITV reality show. She is also known for having competed on Strictly Come Dancing in 2015, placing sixth with partner Aljaž Skorjanec.

Helen has admitted that she is “quite scared” by the prospect of sharing space with sharks and even considered dropping out of the show altogether. However, her decision to remain and conquer her fears was a “no-brainer”.

Ross Noble

Comedian Ross Noble is known to comedy fans for his stints on shows such as Have I Got News For You, Mock The Week, and Would I Lie To You?. As well as touring the UK with his comedy shows, Ross has also made notable appearances on the West End, including in The Producers and Young Frankenstein, the latter of which earned him an Olivier Award nomination.

The comedy star revealed that the experience on Shark! Celebrity Infested Waters was a career and life highlight, adding he and all of his co-stars “just got on”.

Rachel Riley

Countdown’s resident maths expert Rachel Riley is known to viewers for her role on the long-running Channel 4 quiz show, which she joined in 2009. She also appeared on the spin-off comedy show 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown, and competed on Strictly Come Dancing in 2013.

Rachel said that Shark! Celebrity Infested Waters attracted her due to the lack of competition between its stars, which created a welcoming atmosphere amongst the group. She said: "It's not about making us look silly or putting us through unnecessary ordeals for entertainment. We were there in the shark's territory. We had to respect that and we were there to appreciate and enjoy it. We were a team.

"We weren't competing against each other. No one was there worried about staying till next week because there were no eliminations. We were just all in it together and we all wanted to succeed together."

When is Shark! Celebrity Infested Waters on TV?

Episode one of the series will premiere on ITV1 and STV on Monday, July 14 at 9pm. Episode will be shown weekly in the same time slot from there onwards.

For those wanting to binge the series, all episodes are now available on the ITVX streaming service, as well as the STV Player.