Shark! Celebrity Infested Waters failed to impress viewers who branded it ‘boring’ and ‘unwatchable’ following it’s first episode on Monday.

The new series, which coincides with 50th anniversary of Jaws, sees a bunch of famous faces, who are terrified of the sea, face their fears head on by taking a plunge surrounded by the scary predators.

The line-up included Rachel Riley, 39, Lucy Punch, 47, Dougie Poynter, 37, Ade Adepitan, 52, Sir Lenny Henry, 66, and Ross Noble, 48.

However it was Call The Midwife’s Helen George, 40, who rubbed viewers up the wrong way with her tearful and fearful reactions branded ‘attention seeking’ and ‘annoying’.

Taking to X fans fumed: ‘TV execs are now so bereft of ideas that they’re literally feeing celebrities to sharks for our entertainment’: ‘This is pretty unwatchable because there’s one celebrity on there who wants the entire programme to be about “me me me”‘.

‘WTF is she crying for FFS. You’re on a f*****g show called Celebrity Infested Waters what did she think it was, swimming with Dolphins. Seriously waits the point of this tho, boring concept for a show’: ‘Helen just stick to acting’: ‘What is the point of this sown actually?’.

Shark! Celebrity Infested Waters failed to impress viewers who branded it 'boring' and 'unwatchable' following it's first episode on Monday (Helen George pictured)
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Shark! Celebrity Infested Waters failed to impress viewers who branded it ‘boring’ and ‘unwatchable’ following it’s first episode on Monday (Helen George pictured)

The new series, which coincides with 50th anniversary of Jaws, sees a bunch of famous faces, who are terrified of the sea, face their fears (Lenny Henry pictured)
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The new series, which coincides with 50th anniversary of Jaws, sees a bunch of famous faces, who are terrified of the sea, face their fears (Lenny Henry pictured)

Call The Midwife 's Helen George , 40, who rubbed viewers up the wrong way with her tearful and fearful reactions branded 'attention seeking' and 'annoying'
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Call The Midwife ‘s Helen George , 40, who rubbed viewers up the wrong way with her tearful and fearful reactions branded ‘attention seeking’ and ‘annoying’

The BBC actress, who plays nurse Trixie in Call The Midwife, previously revealed she has a lifelong phobia of the ocean.

She told how she had only ‘been up to her knees’ in the water in the last 20 years after an incident when she was younger.

Helen previously explained: ‘When I was very young I was at a swimming party. I remember going underwater, looking up and foam mats had been chucked where I was coming up. I couldn’t get out.’

It comes after another clip showed the star shrieking as a stingray took aim at her nether regions in an unfortunate attack.

While she was submerged in the ocean off the Bahamas, a stingray took a keen interest in Helen.

The Sun reported the actress said during the encounter: ‘Jesus Christ, it’s coming right at my vagina! It’s there.

‘It gave me a tickle. I’ve never been tickled by a stingray before… it was actually quite pleasant.’

She added: ‘Didn’t Steve Irwin die of a stingray?’.

Shark! Celebrity Infested Waters also stars Rachel Riley, 39, Lucy Punch, 47, Dougie Poynter, 37, Ade Adepitan, 52, Sir Lenny Henry, 66, and Ross Noble, 48
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Shark! Celebrity Infested Waters also stars Rachel Riley, 39, Lucy Punch, 47, Dougie Poynter, 37, Ade Adepitan, 52, Sir Lenny Henry, 66, and Ross Noble, 48

The BBC actress, who plays nurse Trixie in Call The Midwife, previously revealed she has a lifelong phobia of the ocean
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The BBC actress, who plays nurse Trixie in Call The Midwife, previously revealed she has a lifelong phobia of the ocean


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Taking to X fans fumed: 'TV execs are now so bereft of ideas that they're literally feeing celebrities to sharks for our entertainment'
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Taking to X fans fumed: ‘TV execs are now so bereft of ideas that they’re literally feeing celebrities to sharks for our entertainment’

Helen was referring to the conservationist and TV star who died in 2006 and was affectionately known as The Crocodile Hunter.

Teasing what’s to come, a ITV spokesperson said: ‘The show will dare a group of ocean-phobic celebrities to confront their greatest fear – sharks.

‘Throughout their adrenaline-fueled, challenge-heavy journey in the Bahamas – the shark capital of the world – these A-listers will push past their limits to come nose to nose with nature’s ‘villains.’

‘Their firsthand experiences will provide immeasurable excitement and new perspective.

‘They’ll come to appreciate sharks’ valuable place on the food chain and in our ecosystem, recognising that a world devoid of these notoriously terrifying creatures is downright frightening.

‘Those taking part will be getting up close and personal with a number of different breeds of sharks throughout filming.’

Head of Factual Entertainment at Plimsoll Productions, Karen Plumb, said: ‘The team at Plimsoll is uniquely positioned to pioneer this format that blends conservation with wildly entertaining pop culture.

‘We’re constantly looking for innovative approaches to wildlife storytelling and are certain that our fish-out-of-water spin – delivering 50 years after Jaws – will transform the world’s perception of these critical predators before it’s too late.’

Head of Entertainment Commissioning ITV, Katie Rawcliffe, said: ‘We’re super excited to be combining the work of Plimsoll – a Blue Chip natural history production company – with the expertise of ITV Entertainment.

‘SHARK! Celebrity Infested Waters promises to be a once in a lifetime challenge for some of the bravest celebrities out there.’