“It was a way of letting things go ”
The latest set of intrepid celebrity travellers tell Inside TV about their enlightening trek through North Wales…
Seven stars with differing beliefs take on another pilgrimage for this sixth series. Across three episodes, presenters Sonali Shah and Michaela Strachan, Traitors star Amanda Lovett, actor Tom Rosenthal, comic Eshaan Akbar, and TV personalities Christine McGuinness and Spencer Matthews embark upon a physical and personal journey. The group traverses the tricky terrain of the North Wales Pilgrim’s Way, taking in a Buddhist meditation centre and an eco retreat in an ancient forest. Here, the celebrity septet tells us more…
Hi, all! What’s your personal highlight from the journey? Tom It was in the first episode, where I sat on a ‘ponder spot’ [a mountain viewpoint]. A voice spoke to me and told me that we were on the right path.
Spencer Getting to see Bardsey Island at the end was beautiful. And on the eco retreat, Eshaan very kindly cooked us all dinner and spoke about forgiveness.
Sonali One of my favourite places was towards the end, on the coastal path to Bardsey. By that time, we knew a lot more about each other’s lives.
Christine Visually, I loved the waterfall [Aber Falls] – that was stunning. But my best moment was collecting pebbles on a beach for a priest to bless. When the pebbles were washed away, it was a way of letting things go and leaving them in the hands of the universe.
Eshaan The thing that sticks with me is also the ‘ponder spot’. I wasn’t too conscious about the cameras: I just felt what I felt. I’m glad people will see it: hopefully, it’ll make them feel more comfortable about talking about their own grief. Michaela I think my moment was at the top of Snowdon. Mountains are my place to go to for peace. I had a really heartbreaking year with a lot of people close to me passing, so for me, it was a great journey of being able to process grief. Amanda I think my moment was also when we left those pebbles, because that allowed me to let my late mother go.
Do you think it’s fair to say once you go on a pilgrimage, you never really come off it? Tom Yeah, I agree with that. I think what I experienced has stayed with me. If it does go away, I’ll just go on another one! There could be a Pilgrimage champion of champions! Spencer It was remarkable to see the emotional impact the journey had on the group. Like, there were times when we’d all be laughing, singing, skipping, whatever, then we’d share a moment in a church of some kind, and 70% of the group would be in floods of tears.
What did you get up to when you weren’t hiking? Sonali Most nights we got together to play The Traitors game! As if 18 hours a day together just wasn’t enough…
Tom And weirdly, Amanda was quite bad at it!
Amanda Oh, I wasn’t very good at all. And we all knew when Spencer was a Traitor because he was like a kid at Christmas!
I hope viewers will feel able to talk about their own grief ESHAAN