*Warning: This article contains spoilers from the Celebrity Bear Hunt final.
Celebrity Bear Hunt winner Big Zuu has revealed what he did with the unconventional prize he received from Bear Grylls.
Over eight episodes hosted by Holly Willoughby, Celebrity Bear Hunt saw 12 celebrities go head-to-head in a game that tested nerve and logic, thrown into the Costa Rican rainforest to escape the claws of survival expert Bear.
It’s basically I’m A Celebrity on steroids.
The celebrity chef came out on top in a nail-biting final, beating the Saturdays singer Una Healy, Ted Lasso star Kola Bokinni, TV presenter Steph McGovern, and model Lottie Moss to receive… a rope.
He told Metro: ‘Well, the rope smells like Bear Grylls but be warned: that’s an intense flavour. He wore that rope through the entire final so when he gave it to me, I was like, “This smells like BO.”
‘The rope was hung up in my house, and it’s like a weird little mantlepiece.
‘People will say, “Brother, what’s that rope?” But for me it represents strength, knowledge, integrity, and unity but also… why not get a trophy? I want a trophy.’
Zuu says he wanted to prove that no matter what your body type is, you are capable of so much – like ‘winning stuff’.
‘I just wanted to show everyone that it doesn’t matter what you look like, where you come from, what you sound like, you can take part in adventure activities,’ he said.
‘I think the fact that I won was a beautiful thing,’ he continued. ‘But it wasn’t about the winning.
‘At first, when I got in there, all I wanted to do was win, but then I realised it’s about the journey and I felt like the journey definitely changed me as a person, it made me more resilient and made me stronger mentally.
‘Now I want to go camping when before I was like, “urgh the dirt.” Now I’m like, “let’s do it. Let me get let me make a fire and set up a tent!”
Perhaps more importantly than any prize or life lesson, Zuu survived when others – namely Changing Rooms designer Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen – almost died making the Netflix series.
Zuu said: ‘Laurence’s moment was definitely very scary. When he came back and we were told he had a near-death experience, and seeing Steph fall during a challenge I was on, you realise that even though it was a very safe production certain elements are out of your control.
‘I thank God everyone came out safe and unharmed but we really did the Bear Grylls thing and put our life on the line for this.
‘I’m thankful I’ve done it because, like I said, it showed me how strong I am.’
Celebrity Bear Hunt is available to stream on Netflix now.
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