Holly Willoughby is embroiled in a row with her new bosses at Netflix over reports that are said to reveal confidential details about her pay.
The streaming giant is reported to have splashed out £10million to bag big-name Brits for reality show Bear Hunt – with hosts Holly and survival guru Bear Grylls picking up almost £1m each. But the leak has not gone down well inside Netflix HQ, which tries to be very protective of sensitive information.
It has even led bosses to issue fresh warnings to their star names that confidentiality must be maintained at all times. A source said: “Netflix is really strict about leaks and anything ahead of schedule. They had a meeting and brought up Holly’s new series, and said they were really upset about how it was leaked and there were so many varying reports about how much she had been paid to do the show. It just isn’t its style. Netflix recruits credible talent – and to have potential earnings in the public domain wasn’t what it had expected.”
Holly will fly to Central America with the cast next month to start filming the show, airing early in 2025. It is set to be one of the most expensive in reality TV history with a group of celebrities tackling jungle challenges – and facing being hunted down by Bear if they fail. Only British stars will feature but Netflix hopes to follow up with other versions to cash in on the huge international appeal of 49-year-old Bear.
Holly, 43, is no stranger to the jungle having stepped in for Ant McPartlin on ITV ’s I’m A Celebrity in 2018. But it is her first major role since she quit ITV’s This Morning in October after 14 years. She bowed out of the show “for me and my family” after it emerged she was the target of an alleged kidnap and murder plot.
Her departure also followed a turbulent time during which she and co-host Phillip Schofield were criticised for alleged queue-jumping to see the Queen lying in state, and Schofield left after he admitted an affair with a young colleague. Netflix recently revealed that its global subscriber base has grown by 30 million, to 260 million. Holly’s new series will be part of an entertainment and factual package that is set to make up the streaming giant’s biggest UK launch of new shows.