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A CROCODILE chased Scary Spice — before bottling it when it got near the pop star.

Crew on Bear Grylls’ TV show looked on nervously as the 10ft beast stalked Mel B through the Costa Rican jungle.

Screengrab of Mel B looking surprised while participating in a bear hunt.
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Mel B legs it in the jungle on Celebrity Bear Hunt
Crocodile's head and jaws emerging from the water.
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The crocodile has been dubbed 'Juvenile Julie', because she is younger than her century-old counterpartsCredit: Getty
Bear Grylls riding a motorcycle.
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Bear Grylls on Celebrity Bear HuntCredit: PA

But they were relieved when the croc suddenly darted away from the Spice Girl, one of a dozen stars taking part in Netflix’s Celebrity Bear Hunt.

An insider said: “All the crew were joking that even this terrifying man-eater knew it might have met its match with Scary, so performed a swift exit.

“But for a while there were some seriously twitchy producers because, unlike shows like I’m A Celebrity, the crocs on Bear Hunt don’t have their jaws tied shut.”

The creature lives in the jungle and has been dubbed “Juvenile Julie” because of her relative youth compared to other crocs, who can live to be over 100.

READ MORE ON CELEB BEAR HUNT

Viewers can watch the chase on the show — hosted by Holly Willoughby — when it drops on February 5.

The eight-parter sees famous faces — including Shirley Ballas, Lottie Moss and Boris Becker — trying to evade capture by TV survival expert Bear in a sectioned-off part of the jungle.

Bear said: “There are ‘created elements’ within it, but it is a naturally constrained area that genuinely has a crocodile in it, who we’ve nicknamed ‘Juvenile Julie.’

“I think the crocodile getting so close to Mel B when she was trying to escape was the gnarliest thing that happened during filming.

“We got brilliant footage of the crocodile just lasering into her.”

Juvenile Julie is just one of the show’s potentially deadly creatures, including scorpions, tarantulas and snakes.

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Exec producer Ben Mitchell said: “All the animals that are in there really are just living there - it is genuinely terrifying.”

Mel B performing at the BRIT Awards 1997.
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Spice Girl Mel is one of a dozen stars taking part in Netflix’s Celebrity Bear HuntCredit: Getty
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