With Easter approaching, the annual Pilgrimage series is returning to BBC Two next month…
Another seven well known personalities of differing faiths and beliefs, tackle a challenging 300km pilgrimage, through the majestic and awe-inspiring Austrian and Swiss Alps.
Caroline Matthews, Executive Producer and CEO, CTVC:
“Pilgrimage always delivers something new and unexpected! Against the epic backdrop of the Alps, our incredible celebrity pilgrims take a deep dive into faith, whilst pondering life’s big questions. Cue tears, laughter, struggles and an outdoor bathtub with an Austrian hostel owner…”
Across three episodes Pilgrimage: The Road Through the Alps, will follow celebrity pilgrims, as they take a personal journey along a revived medieval Catholic route, travelling from just outside Innsbruck on the Austrian Camino and finishing near Lake Zurich in Switzerland.
Taking part in this physical and spiritual journey, over the hour-long episodes, are agnostic Jay McGuiness, singer from boy band, The Wanted; actor and comedy legend Helen Lederer who is from a mixed heritage background, with a culturally Jewish father and a Protestant mother; practising Catholic, Harry Clark – The Traitors (series two) winner; standup comedian Daliso Chaponda, who grew up in a Christian family but is exploring the Baha’i faith; presenter Jeff Brazier, who went to Catholic schools but now is spiritual and meditates as part of his everyday life; retired Paralympian and practising Christian Stef Reid and journalist Nelufar Hedayat, who refers to herself as a modern Muslim.
The seven pilgrims begin their Camino in the picturesque village of Inzing, 17km outside the Tyrolean capital. Over twelve days, they will face strenuous climbs, high into the Alps, even reaching the snow line. They will follow the ancient path west across the Arlberg pass, the highest point on the Camino, and continue to their final destination in the foothills of the Swiss Alps, Einsiedeln Abbey.
Originally inspired over a thousand years ago by followers of the famous hermit St Meinrad, the abbey attracts almost a million pilgrims and visitors every year. They are drawn by its venerated Black Madonna, its unique history and the Benedictine monks who live and worship there.
“Armed with a backpack each, the pilgrims will stay in local guest houses, as well as sharing rooms in a convent and pilgrim hostels. Revealing their thoughts on their faith and why they wanted to take part in this Pilgrimage.” – BBC Two
Pilgrimage: The Road Through the Alps is a CTVC production. The series is Executive Produced by CTVC’s Caroline Matthews and Michele Kurland and Series Produced by Toni Williamson.
