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Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n AAA<\/p>\n In the pool, four-time Olympic gold medallist Ariarne Titmus<\/a> is the epitome of strength, composure and determination. But in the ocean, she\u2019s a trembling mess, unable to wade past the breakers for fear of what lurks beneath. Fortunately, there is a celebrity-specific exposure therapy for such a phobia \u2013 Nine\u2019s new reality series, SHARK!. Off the Bimini islands in the Bahamas, Titmus works through her terror of the marine apex predator alongside Scott Cam, Matt Nable<\/a>, Lynne McGranger<\/a>, former NRL player Sam Thaiday<\/a> and influencer Tammy Hembrow<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I first got the opportunity, I was flat-out \u2018No! Not happening\u2019,\u201d says Titmus of the show, based on a now-cancelled British format. \u201cThere was just no way I was putting myself in that position. But then I thought \u2018That\u2019s the easy way out\u2019. And I\u2019ve never been someone to shy away from a challenge.\u201d<\/p>\n Her parents, Seven sports broadcaster Steve Titmus and mum Robyn, begged her not to.<\/p>\n \u201cThey were of the mindset \u2018How can they possibly guarantee that nothing\u2019s going to happen? They can have as much safety as possible, but you\u2019re still in the open ocean with wild animals\u2019,\u201d recalls Titmus. \u201cI had to update them every day. They were ticking down the days.\u201d<\/p>\n Editor’s pick From the first episode, Titmus\u2019 trepidation is palpable. Standing on the beach, she fights back tears as host Paul de Gelder<\/a>, a former Navy diver and bull shark-attack survivor, underscores the very real dangers of their challenges (which begin with cage diving and progress to exposed scuba diving), repeatedly gesturing to his prosthetic right hand and leg. An impassioned speech about the ancient species by British marine conservationist Annie Guttridge does little to reassure the Olympic swimmer.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve never been so petrified in my life,\u201d says Titmus. \u201cI really don\u2019t want people to think that I\u2019m overreacting or putting on a performance. It took every ounce of myself to do the challenges. It\u2019s one of the toughest things I\u2019ve ever done.\u201d<\/p>\n She refused to join the others in a preparatory exercise involving hand-feeding a fever of stingrays. It\u2019s the fluttering and wriggling of living things that Titmus cannot stand. Even in the chlorinated environment of her previous career, she wasn\u2019t safe.<\/p>\n \u201cMy coach used to put crickets in my swimming bag to scare and annoy me,\u201d she says. \u201cHe\u2019d use it to motivate me, to provoke me, so I could prove him wrong in the pool. And if there was a bug in the pool, the others would push it my way. Everyone knew that I had a fear of creepy-crawlies. So yeah, I\u2019m not so good with animals, other than dogs.\u201d<\/p>\n As with Ten\u2019s I\u2019m a Celebrity \u2026 Get Me Out of Here!<\/a> (on which Titmus is unlikely to appear given that such creatures must not only be endured but ingested), there is camaraderie among this famous cast. \u201cThere\u2019s no drama whatsoever. The drama is the sharks. I don\u2019t think you could get through an experience like that if you didn\u2019t have each other\u2019s backs.\u201d<\/p>\n She bonded with the \u201cmother hen of the group\u201d, McGranger, whose exit from Seven\u2019s Home and Away coincided with Titmus\u2019 retirement from swimming. \u201cI was starstruck when I met her, but soon I realised that she\u2019s just Lynnie. And she\u2019s such a card. She has the most wicked sense of humour. We would always be in fits laughing.\u201d<\/p>\n Despite the panic that overwhelmed her on more than one occasion, Titmus has a newfound appreciation for sharks.<\/p>\n \u201cI learnt how sharks work and why they\u2019re important,\u201d she says. \u201cThey\u2019re not there to eat everyone. I have a great understanding of them and how incredibly strong and powerful they are, and what they really are capable of if you\u2019re in the wrong place at the wrong time.\u201d<\/p>\n Since filming, Titmus has taken her first ocean swim, around the cove in Noosa. \u201cIt was really satisfying for me to do that, and I wasn\u2019t afraid. I was really proud of myself.\u201d<\/p>\n Shark! premieres at 7pm on Sunday, May 31, on Nine (the owner of this masthead).<\/p>\n Want more TV? We\u2019ve got you.Save<\/p>\n You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/b63ddf461dca42e094aebe3884ad094e17f7163d.jpeg\")
The cast of Shark! (from left): Matt Nable, Ariarne Titmus, Lynne McGranger, Scott Cam, Sam Thaiday and Tammy Hembrow.<\/p>\n![\"Homeowners](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/b579b22784b3e96ed945a2492a2f9ffb2f7b83b6.jpeg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Dive](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/0168892391ae52710babab58700a6b779462b83b.jpeg\")
Dive expert and shark attack survivor Paul de Gelder hugs Ariarne Titmus in Shark! <\/p>\n
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