Celebrity Bear Hunt episode 1 recap: Celebrities try to reach their base camp as Bear Grylls hunts them

Celebrity Bear Hunt premiered on Netflix on February 5 and kicked off with the celebrities making their way through the Costa Rican jungle to participate in the "ultimate game of cat and mouse" with Bear Grylls.

The contestants were placed into a challenge upon their arrival and they had to make their way to their base camp without getting caught by Bear. The 12 celebrities were split into groups of two and only eight managed to complete the challenge.

The four contestants who failed became the first group of people to enter the bear pit. To avoid elimination, they had to either escape the pit or survive long enough without getting caught by Bear.

Titled Let the Hunt Begin, the synopsis for the episode reads:

"12 celebrities arrive in the Costa Rican jungle. Their first mission is simply to reach the lodge — without Bear Grylls getting to them first."

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What happened on Celebrity Bear Hunt episode 1?

The trial run for the bearpit

As soon as the celebrity contestants made their arrival in Celebrity Bear Hunt episode 1 they were pushed into a challenge. Host Holly Willoughby informed them that Bear Grylls decided to give them a "trial run for the Bear Pit"

For their first challenge, they were divided into two groups: team blue and green. They had to make a trip from their location to the base camp, which would be their home for the next 18 days, as Bear Grylls just for them.

"Bear will use today's hunt as an opportunity to observe and evaluate your performance before, of course, going in for the kill. So look out for each other, and don't stray too far from the pack, because if you make a mistake, he's gonna take you down. Anybody he catches will be sent to the dreaded Bear Pit," the Celebrity Bear Hunt host shared.

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Four contestants get caught by Bear

As the Celebrity Bear Hunt contestants started the challenge Willoughby shared that there were three ways to exit the mudflats; boat, jeep, or helicopter. Before they could use any of these vehicles contestants had to find special tools hidden in the jungle.

The blue team opted to use the boats to cross a crocodile-infested river and reach the beach. Upon arrival, they discovered that they had three boats—one of which had a hole that needed to be patched using corks before it could be used.

Besides tracking the contestants, Bear Grylls had also set up a series of booby traps. Watching over the teams, he hoped they would split up—giving him the perfect opportunity to strike.

Leomie Anderson set out to find the corks needed to repair the boats but became the first contestant to be caught by Bear Grylls. Shortly after, another Blue team member, Mel B, was captured while attempting to cross the river in the damaged boat.

Meanwhile, the green team split into groups of two, one going for the helicopter while the other aiming for the jeep. Steph McGovern was first to get caught as she was sitting in the jeep waiting for her two teammates to unlock the wheels.

The other half of the green team needed to find three flairs to call off the helicopter. They did manage to call one but it came at the cost of their teammate Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen.

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Losers enter the bearpit

The eight contestants who managed to evade Bear's hunt arrived at their base camp, where they would live for the next 18 days. The camp was equipped with essential supplies and located near a challenge ground where they would also get to learn survival skills directly from Bear. However, if they lose these challenges they will enter the bearpit fighting for their life, as Bear hunts them down.

Since Leomie, Mel B, Steph, and Laurence lost the first challenge, they became the first group of people to enter the bearpit. The Celebrity Bear Hunt host Holly Willoughby informed them that they had 60 minutes in the pit and they had either had to escape the pit or avoid getting captured by Bear. She further added that there were only three exits so one of them would face elimination.

The episode ended on a cliffhanger suggesting that Leomie got taught in one of Bear's traps.

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Celebrity Bear Hunt episodes 1-8 are available on Netflix.