Bear Grylls’ latest show, Celebrity Bear Hunt, has dropped on today (February 5), promising a thrilling experience for viewers.
The show pits 12 celebrities against the wilds of the Costa Rican jungle, with the famed survival expert on their trail.
As well as living with each other, the famous faces must also take on various challenges and the losers must take on an elimination where they avoid being caught by Bear himself.
Among the stars braving the challenge is rapper and chef Big Zuu, aka Zuhair Hassan, renowned for his hit show Big Zuu’s Big Eats on U&Dave.
With audiences eager to binge-watch the fresh series, here’s a deep dive into Big Zuu’s journey from his modest roots to his rumoured romance with a model.
Big Zuu has regularly appeared on TV screens since 2020 (Image: Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)
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Council estate upbringing
Originating from London’s Mozart Estate in Harrow, West London, Big Zuu attributes his success to his early life struggles.
In a 2022 interview with iNews, he reflected: “I’m from a typical working class refugee background. My mum came to the UK from Sierra Leone, and we settled in West London when I was five.”
“We didn’t have anything to fall back on, we were relying on the Government’s help that’s what I meant when I said in my speech that I came from humble beginnings.”
His working-class upbringing, he says, makes him more relatable to people in all his varied pursuits.
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The rapper and chef has won BAFTA awards (Image: Getty)
Secret romance
Meanwhile, whispers in May last year hinted at a secret romance between the TV star and a gorgeous model named Amy.
A successful model for fashion heavyweight Fashion Nova, she regularly treats her social media followers to glimpses of her globetrotting adventures.
Although both were seen visiting Tenorio Volcano National Park in Guataso, Costa Rica, as per their individual stories, they carefully avoided tagging each other and have maintained a tight-lipped stance on their relationship status.
Big Zuu is a part of Netflix’s Celebrity Bear Hunt (Image: Netflix)
BAFTA victory
May 2022 marked a career-defining moment for Big Zuu as he scooped two BAFTA TV Awards in the categories of entertainment performance and features for Big Zuu’s Big Eats, a feat he repeated in 2023 and also nabbed Entertainment Performance last year.
Upon accepting his accolades, Big Zuu shared: “It means a lot. Where we came from this stuff is very rare.
“We grew up in a little estate together, no one would have thought we would have got to where we have got to and to win a Bafta. I don’t know – it’s just mad.”