Paul De Gelder guides six celebrities on Shark! debut in the Bahamas
Paul de gelder surfaced on the debut episode of Shark! on Sunday night, guiding six celebrities through shark encounters in the Bahamas. The show pairs his experience with a cast that includes Matt Nable, Ariarne Titmus and Scott Cam.
In 2009, a three-metre bull shark attacked him during a counter-terrorism training exercise in Sydney Harbour. He lost his right hand and right leg in the eight-second mauling, and now he is using the series to push a different view of sharks.
Sydney Harbour changed Paul de Gelder
Paul de Gelder said he hated sharks before the attack and now wants to change how people see them. “Now, I want to change people's perceptions of sharks,” he said on the show, adding, “I want to show them how amazing, how beautiful they are, how we can actually co-exist with them.”
He was an elite Navy clearance diver at the time, which gives Shark! a different kind of authority than a standard survival-format show. This is not a celebrity trip built around spectacle alone; it uses a survivor with direct experience of a bull shark strike to steer the tone.
Six celebrities in the Bahamas
The first group on Shark! includes Matt Nable, Ariarne Titmus, Lynne McGranger, Scott Cam, Sam Thaiday and Tammy Hembrow. Over a number of weeks, they work toward diving cage-free with sharks under de Gelder and Annie Gutteridge.
The show aims to put them in the water with tiger sharks, hammerhead sharks and bull sharks in the Bahamas, a setting the program calls the shark capital of the world. That setup gives the debut a clear business hook: six recognizable names, a survival-expert guide and a format built around escalating water exposure rather than studio conversation.
Paul de Gelder and season two
de Gelder said filming was “a really, really wonderful experience,” and added, “Hoping we get season two so we can take another group of people.” He also kept his blunt edge intact, saying, “Bull sharks can get f---ed!”
Scott Cam described the shoot as loaded with nerves before the divers got into the water, but said he relaxed once he reached the bottom. If Shark! returns, the formula is already clear: a survivor-led cast, cage-free dives and a second run built on whether the first group can hold their nerve long enough to keep the show moving.
