Holly Willoughby is flying out to Costa Rica to film her new show Bear Hunt next month, but sources have claimed that the presenter has been “bursting into tears” over leaving her three kids at home in Blighty.
The former This Morning host has signed up to presenter Netflix’s new survival show alongside Bear Grylls. However, it’s being filmed in the middle of the South American jungle, with Holly thought to be on the other side of the world for four weeks during filming.
Now, according a source in Heat, while Holly is excited about the new role, she’s also upset over leaving her kids – Harry, 14, Belle, 12, and Chester, eight – behind with husband Dan Baldwin.
Holly Willoughby ‘upset’ over new show
The source claimed: “Of course, Holly’s thrilled about the new show. But it’s also been a bit heartbreaking, because she’s realised it’s not really feasible to take the kids out of school and bring them with her. Being 5,000 miles away for a month of filming isn’t going to be easy, so she’s really tried to think of every way possible to make it less painful.
It’s not really feasible to take the kids out of school and bring them with her.
“She’ll FaceTime as much as possible, but she also knows that Netflix expect a lot, so she can’t be disappearing to take long family calls whenever she feels like it. Besides, her destination is nine hours behind the UK, so she’ll be in bed when the kids are up. She gets quite upset thinking about it.”
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Husband Dan tells Holly to ‘grab the opportunity’
The insider added that husband Dan is 100% supportive when it comes to Holly’s career. As a result, he is said to be reminding her that she’s an “amazing mum”. He’s also promised an “epic reunion” when she returns home. But that’s something that also makes poor Holly weepy.
“Holly really doesn’t do well when she’s away from her family. And she also feels bad for putting pressure on Dan to hold the fort. Dan keeps reminding her that, while she’s an amazing mum, she needs to grab this opportunity with both hands. He’s told her that they’ll have an epic reunion when she gets home. But that kind of talk just makes her burst into tears, because she realises this is really happening,” said the source.
They then added that, in some ways, Holly “regrets signing up” to host Bear Hunt. The source concluded that she knows she’s going to miss them “so much”. However, she’s going to try and “be brave and go with it”.
Safety fears
There are also fears over the cast and crew’s safety while they’re in Costa Rica. Bosses will reportedly spend £1m on security in the jungle of Costa Rica, where mob murders, assassinations and attacks on bystanders are on the rise.
A TV insider told The Sun: “Keeping Holly and everyone fully protected in Costa Rica is the priority. That means hiring specialist teams of guards, many of whom will be ex-military and special forces experts.”
Holly’s reps had nothing to add when contacted by ED! for comment.
Read more: Holly Willoughby ‘eyeing fresh start in America’
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