PICK OF THE DAY
HUFFING and puffing, nine famous faces are already out of breath as they begin their gruelling journey to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro. At over 19,000ft, it’s Africa’s highest mountain, but the intrepid celebs are bravely taking it on to raise money and awareness for Red Nose Day.
It’s going to be arduous, with eight days of trekking at extreme altitude. Some of them have never even slept in a tent before, let alone coped without running KILIMANJARO: THE BIGGER RED NOSE CLIMB
water or electricity.
The Kilimanajaro Nine, as they are dubbed in this documentary as if they are wanted for criminal activity, are Strictly Come Dancing’s Shirley Ballas, former MP Ed Balls, broadcaster Anita Rani, Love Island’s Dani Dyer, Pointless host Alexander Armstrong, BBC Breakfast presenter
Dan Walker, BBC
NFL pundit Osi Umenyiora and
Little Mix’s Jade
Thirlwall and Leigh-Anne Pinnock.
“I think it’s going to be a lot harder than I thought. I’ve never even camped in my life,” says Dani.
Before they begin the 55 mile trek, some of the team who climbed Kilimanjaro for the charity 10 years ago pass on a special message – but it’s not that encouraging. “I can’t stress how horrible the climb is. It’s vile,” says radio DJ Chris Moyles. There are plenty of Kilimanjaro highs and lows, from an amazing welcome by locals at base camp, to the inexperienced climbers struggling with extreme temperatures and debilitating altitude sickness. Watch out also for some emotional segments – among them Shirley, who lost her brother to suicide, visits a project which aims to reduce male suicide rates.