We love sitting down with Una Healy, she’s always able to brighten up a room.
This year, she’s grabbing life by the horns, kicking things off with Celebrity Bear Hunt where she joins a group of celebrities to be hunted down by Bear Grylls. It sounds like our idea of hell, but Una can’t help but gush about it.
We caught up with the singer to find out how life is outside the Bear Pit and why she would go back in a heartbeat…
Hi Una, how are you? Let’s talk about Celebrity Bear Hunt. Why would you get involved in this?! It’s like torture!
I’m all good! You’d surprise yourself! Within all of us, we have strengths that we don’t even realise until we’re in the situation. When I was first approached to do a casting interview I wasn’t too sure. They really had to sell it to me. I was petrified. But when I was in there i loved every minute of it. I think everyone needs to do some sort of a challenge in their life, and that was really a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
We know you had your biggest supports Aoife-Belle and Tadhg, was it tough to be away from them to do this?
I wasn’t the only parent in there, so we had each other. And we were allowed a phone calls home so we weren’t completely disconnected. They were very encouraging of me doing it. They were really proud of me and I wanted to do them proud. They were a huge inspiration for me doing the show.
Una, you’re so glam in real life! But we’ll see a not so glam side on the show…
We weren’t so glam in there. But it comes to a point where you just don’t care anymore! Even though we had microphones on us and we were on camera all the time. We had body cams on us at that unfortunate angle. But you just don’t care! That goes out the window, the glam side. You don’t even think about it. It’s all about the challenge and forming connections and friendships in there. You just have to get on with it. I’ll be glam on the green carpet! The memo is glamouflage! And I know all about camouflage. When we went into the Bear Pit we had to be dressed to be unrecognisable. Bear [Grylls] gave us some tips. We had gilly suits and we had to put loads of foliage over ourselves and rub mud in our faces and try and hide. That was a lot of fun.
Speaking of Bear, what is it like knowing that he’s hunting you?
As soon as you enter the Bear Pit you have a few minutes to get your bearings. You have a map and you have to find your exit. In the meantime, Bear enters and you hear the gunshots go off, bang, bang, bang. And then you have to quiet down and be stealthy while he’s in there. I mean, he could be anywhere! He’s the king of survival. He could pounce on you at any time. He told us to be on Amber Alert at all times.
What did you learn about yourself?
Yes! I would naturally be a very chatty person. But when I went in there first, I was quite shy and I was a little bit intimidated by people’s personalities in there. But I came out of my shell as the show went on. And I learned to listen rather than the person who is chat, chat, chatting away. I learned how to observe. And I think that really helped when I went into the Bear Pit because you have to observe everything that’s happening.
Viewers will see a different side to you in the show. Are you excited about that?
Yeah! I think we all came from different walks of life. So we’re all in there in the same boat together. I think it’s great that people are going to see a different side to all of us and just who we are as people. I think people don’t see your personality when you are up on stage performing. It’s like an alter ego. Whereas I think people will get to know me as a person a little bit more.
You’re a proud Irish woman and you did us proud in the show. Were you proud to be flying the Irish flag?
Yes, absolutely! I’m delighted to be flying the Irish flag in there. I’m always very proud, wherever I go in the world, to be Irish.
Would you do something like this again?
I loved it. I would do it again! But I would want it to be completely different. We all loved doing this show because it’s never been done before. So if they did do another version, you can always watch back our episodes. We’re like the guinea pigs! I don’t think I would have been able to do anything like this before because it was the first of its kind.
You’re a competitive person, do you think that helped you?
I was in competitive sport as a child with my swimming and running. I think it helped, especially in the Bear Pit.
Celebrity Bear Hunt is out now on Netflix
