Holly Willoughby hits the jungle and Olly Alexander's album: What to stream this week

Holly Willoughby hits the jungle and Olly Alexander's album: What to stream this week

 
Getty Images A composite image of Holly Willoughby and Olly AlexanderGetty Images
This week, Holly Willoughby and Bear Grylls head to the wilds of Costa Rica for a brand new TV series, Celebrity Bear Hunt.

But that's not all the week has in store.

Olly Alexander’s new album is coming out, Leon Edwards will be talking Donald Trump on Louis Theroux’s podcast, and it’s the 25th anniversary of The Sims.

Read on for this week's biggest releases...


We're going on a (celebrity) bear hunt
Netflix A picture of Holly Willoughby and Bear Grylls in Celebrity Bear HuntNetflix
New TV series Celebrity Bear Hunt drops on Netflix on Wednesday, hosted by Holly Willoughby.

Twelve celebrities, including former Spice Girl Mel B, Strictly head judge Shirley Ballas, and chef and rapper Big Zuu, will be dropped into the Central American jungle.

So far, so predictable. But this show comes with a twist.

We’re told those who fail to impress will be hunted down by survival expert Bear Grylls and, if captured, face elimination from the show.

Holly admits her idea of “outdoorsy” usually involves taking the dog for a walk and ending up at a pub lunch (I’m with her on that).

But the 43-year-old says she dug deep, and forced herself to be brave: “As you get older, you should always push yourself to try new things."


Olly Alexander goes back to the 80s
By Mark Savage, Music correspondent

Getty Images Olly Alexander performing against a colourful backgroundGetty Images

When Olly Alexander played Radio 1's Big Weekend in Luton last summer, it was just a couple of weeks after his Eurovision dreams came crashing down around his ears. But the star handled it all with his typical good humour.

"And now," he announced from the stage, "for the song that was only 17 places away from winning the Eurovision Song Contest… It's Dizzy!"

Dizzy may have faced a chilly reception in Sweden, but it sounds fresh and exciting on the former Years & Years singer's new album, Polari, which comes out on Friday.

Eurovision: What does the UK have to do to win?
His first release as a solo artist, it sees the star embrace the sounds of 80s club culture, with influences ranging from the queer-coded pop of Erasure and Pet Shop Boys to the thunderous drum sounds of Janet Jackson and Art Of Noise.

If you're not familiar with the origin of the title, Olly explained it to me like this: "Polari is kind of considered the lost language of gay men, who would use it to communicate with each other in secret when homosexuality was criminalised. So it's got a really beautiful, rich history, which I found so inspiring whilst I was making the music."

Olly is hosting a couple of acoustic shows and Q&A events to promote the album in Brighton, Liverpool, Nottingham and London. I dare you to ask what he really thinks about Eurovision.

Leon Edwards talks Trump
Getty Images A picture of fighter Leon EdwardsGetty Images
British UFC fighter Leon Edwards' defeat by American Belal Muhammad last July ended his 12-fight winning streak.

On Tuesday, he will be opening up about that rare loss to Louis Theroux on his podcast.

But that's not all that's on the table.

I've been told he will also be talking about his upbringing, including moving from Jamaica to Birmingham, being arrested for carrying a knife and his father being killed when he was 13 years old.

He will also discuss Donald Trump's involvement in UFC, and the time he had dinner with controversial British-American influencer Andrew Tate.

Apparently, the chat also sees Louis doing 35 continuous press-ups. I feel tired just writing that.

Humple Borpnah to The Sims
EA/Maxis A photo from The SimsEA/Maxis
By Tom Richardson, Newsbeat reporter

That's "Happy Birthday" if you're a Sim, the virtual people made famous by one of the best-selling video games of all time.

The series, which turns 25 on Tuesday, was a smash hit on its original 2000 release, and has since become a genuine cultural phenomenon.

Popstars including Katy Perry have recorded songs in Simlish – the gibberish language spoken in the games – and Margot Robbie is set to produce a film inspired by the universe.

Naturally, publisher Electronic Arts and developer Maxis have plans to mark the big day. They've already re-released the first two games for PC players and on Tuesday, they'll launch a 25-hour livestream expected to star some of The Sims community's biggest streamers. There's also a big in-game update for The Sims 4 containing new item drops and nostalgic rewards.

If all of that makes you say "Ugh… groble!" ("Eww, gross!"), then another big game release this week, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, might be more your speed. The Czech-made medieval epic is a sequel to the 2018 sleeper hit, and early previews have been positive.

Other highlights this week...
Bill Gates has a new memoir out on Tuesday called Source Code: My Beginnings
Creepy Nuts, the Japanese hip hop duo, release their new album Legion on Wednesday
Becoming Led Zeppelin, a documentary film about the band, is released in cinemas on Friday
Krept & Konan's fourth studio album, Young Kingz II, also comes out on Friday
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Television
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Holly Willoughby
Film
Bill Gates
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