A bust-up between a Spice Girl and Strictly Come Dancing’s resident Queen of Latin definitely wasn’t on our bingo card for 2025 – but such is the power of reality telly.
Earlier this week, Netflix debuted the new series Celebrity Bear Hunt, in which a star-studded cast was dropped into the middle of the Costa Rican jungle and put through their paces by survivalist expert Bear Grylls.
From pretty much the word go, viewers saw that things were a touch frosty between contestants Mel B and Shirley Ballas, with things boiling over when the show reached its third episode, and the Strictly judge voiced her frustration at the Spice Up Your Life singer winding up the rest of the team.
In the following episode, the two came to blows yet again, when Mel made it clear to Shirley: “We all have to go in the pit sometimes.”
“What’s the matter with you?” Shirley then responded, insisting she was “not here complaining, whining, or moaning”.
“I’m not afraid of going in, so I don’t know what you’re point is,” she added.
Later, Mel said she was “just talking to” Shirley, to which she hit back: “Well, you don’t really talk, do you? You direct, you’re in somebody’s face.”
“I’m just who I am,” Mel then replied.
Reflecting on the argument in an interview with What To Watch, Shirley claimed: “I can let somebody be a diva for so long, until I feel somebody else is being picked on. I’ve dealt with divas in my industry all my life. There’s nothing in any part of anything that could shock me.”
“But when you’re in a situation where you have to live together and you can’t go home to your own house, all you ask is that people respect one another,” she continued.
“If somebody’s pushing someone’s buttons and trying to get reactions out of people, I don’t like that. I think it’s totally unnecessary, but I know it makes great TV!”
She added later in the interview: “I think if you sign up for it, shut up and get on with it. Unfortunately, not everybody felt the same way!”
As well as Mel and Shirley, Celebrity Bear Hunt features appearances from tennis pro Boris Becker, daytime host Steph McGovern and The Saturdays singer Una Healy.
It also marks the international presenting debut of Holly Willoughby, who hosts Celebrity Bear Hunt.