One of the celebrities on Nine’s extreme reality series Shark! quit the show in Monday’s episode, a day out from tonight’s finale.
The six-part series sees a group of Aussie celebs – among them The Block host Scott Cam, former Home and Away star Lynne McGranger and Olympic swimmer Ariarne Titmus – facing their fears in a series of increasingly extreme dives with wild sharks.
Titmus had struggled most out of the group, and in Monday’s episode, she confessed she was questioning whether she could go through with the final challenge, a dive with Tiger sharks at Tiger Beach, a dive site in the Bahamas where there have been several fatal shark attacks in the past.
“I’ve never been someone to give up. You don’t win Olympic gold to give up. But you have limits … I have to think about what’s realistic for me, and if Tiger Beach is a bit too far out of my reach …” she said.
Ariarne announces she’s quitting the show. Picture: Nine
The other contestants reel from the bombshell news. Picture: Nine.
Sitting down with her fellow contestants and the show’s hosts, shark attack survivor Paul de Gelder and shark conservationist Annie Guttridge, Titmus made an announcement that came as a surprise to all.
“I’ve thought a lot about this dive and ultimately, I’ve decided not to do the Tiger shark dive,” she began.
“I’ve also made another decision, and I’ve actually decided to go home today.”
Her fellow contestants appeared overcome with emotion that Titmus would be leaving, as Guttridge said it was a “big shock” and de Gelder asked if there was anything they could do to convince her to stay.
“I’m emotionally exhausted … this has been really tough for me. I just want these guys to jump into it and enjoy it, and I don’t want them to have my fear as a distraction,” Titmus explained.
In tonight’s finale, the remaining celebs will tackle their most extreme shark dive yet.
Shark! airs as shark attacks are once again in the news, after a woman critically injured after being attacked by a shark off Coogee Beach on Saturday has had her arm amputated.
Leah Stewart, 35, was mauled by what is believed to have been a 3.5m great white shark.
She remains in a critical but stable condition at St Vincent’s Hospital.
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Ariana breaks down: ‘Can’t do this to me’Just weeks ago, Nine pulled the premiere of Shark! in Western Australia following a fatal shark attack at one of the state’s beaches.
Daniel Turpin, 35, was spearfishing with his family at Michaelmas Island near Albany – about 420km southeast of Perth – when he was attacked by a 4.5m shark.
“Given recent events, we have made the decision to postpone the Perth broadcast premiere of Shark!” a spokesperson said at the time.
