Horrifying moment Call the Midwife's Helen George sobs and falls to the floor after terrifying shark cage experience
2
Seven celebrities are taking part in ITV's new show
2
Helen is best known for her role as Trixie in Call the Midwife
Credit: BBC
The celebrities join three world-renowned shark experts on a dive expedition to The Bahamas, the shark capital of the world.
While the other celebrities - Sir
sharks
, Helen had a more pressing problem to address on the first day.
She revealed she is scared of the sea and hasn't been in it for 20 years, after a childhood incident left her fearful of putting her head under the water.
Helen -
Read More on Helen George
But, keen to overcome her phobia for the sake of her two children who love
swimming
, the actress got her wet suit on and headed to the
pool
with the others for a safety briefing on their scuba gear.
Later, the time came for her to get into the shark cage, with the experts deciding it would be best for her to go in with one of them, Danni
Washington
.
Helen was clearly petrified, but managed to get into the cage and submerge to see the sharks all around her.
But she became panicked about where to put her feet - having been warned to keep all limbs inside the cage.
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After a few moments, she cried: "I wanna come out, I wanna come out, please!"
But then she became more distressed at how she would be able to get out of the cage, her fear of being trapped underwater returning once more.
Shark! Celebrity Infested Waters
Helen begged Danni to climb out before her so she could see how it was done, before she was finally pulled out too.
Once back on dry land, an emotional Helen sank to her knees on the dock and put her hand to her face before apologising.
She told Danni: "I'm so sorry, I was so scared, I was panicking. I was so scared about coming out."
Danni immediately got down beside her and reassured Helen that she had done a great job, leading Helen to give her a big hug.
Viewers flocked to social media to make their opinions heard and one wrote: "Helen is doing a better job than me. Severe fears are insane. Heights for me are worse than death. I totally feel for her. Well done to her."
But another said: "Not liking SEAWATER and/or SHARKS...erm, is this the only thing your agent found for you?"
While a third said: "OK I vote Helen George to go in first without a cage and covered in entrails."
"Ffs Helen is a right wuss," added another viewer.
Danni later told her colleagues: "She overcame a huge fear, actually a phobia, she managed to get her head under the water because that's her biggest fear and then on top of that she was in the water with sharks. So we're off to a good start."
Shark! Celebrity Infested Waters airs on ITV1 and ITVX.
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