PILGRIMAGE

Celebrities take a journey of a lifetime. They all have different faiths and beliefs - will stepping in ancient footsteps on a spiritual journey broaden minds?

Season 1 - Pilgrimage: The Road to Santiago

Neil Morrissey, Debbie McGee, Heather Small, Ed Byrne, Kate Bottley, Raphael Rowe and JJ Chalmers embark on a journey they'll never forget: they're going to walk the Camino de Santiago.

Living as simple pilgrims, including staying in traditional hostels and carrying everything they need on their backs, they travel through mountain ranges and stunning landscapes in France and Spain whilst exploring the spiritual meaning of this well-trodden route.

Season 2 - Pilgrimage: The Road to Rome

All with differing beliefs and faiths, actors Les Dennis and Lesley Joseph, professional dancer Brendan Cole, comedians Stephen K Amos and Katy Brand, Olympic champion Greg Rutherford, Irish Eurovision Song contest winner Dana and television presenter Mehreen Baig will live as modern day pilgrims. 

Donning backpacks and walking boots, they’ll stay in basic hostels, sleep in shared dorms and follow a largely untrodden route as they set out on the ancient 2000km Via Francigena. It will take them over the Alps and through the vineyards of Tuscany with the end goal of reaching Rome, the home of the Roman Catholic Church.

Season 3 - Pilgrimage: The Road to Istanbul

Journalist Adrian Chiles, a converted Catholic; former politician Edwina Currie, a lapsed Jew; Olympian Fatima Whitbread, a practicing Christian; broadcaster Mim Shaikh and television presenter Amar Latif, both Muslims; and two confirmed atheist’s, comedian Dom Joly and actor Pauline McLynn; will live as simple pilgrims following an ancient military route to the historic city of Istanbul, which has been transformed into a modern-day path of peace.

Season 4 - Pilgrimage: The Road to the Scottish Isles

Seven well-known personalities with differing faiths and beliefs put on their backpacks and waterproofs and set out on foot, by road and sea, travelling over 1,600km to learn about a key figure in early British Christianity, St Columba: an Irish monk born 1,500 years ago who helped spread the faith from Ireland to Scotland. 

Following ancient paths and heritage walking trails are interior designer and non-conforming pagan Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen; England cricketing legend and practising Sikh Monty Panesar; actor Louisa Clein, who is Jewish; TV personality and agnostic Nick Hewer; social media influencer and Christian Scarlett Moffatt; comedian and Muslim Shazia Mirza; and Paralympian and lapsed Christian Will Bayley. They will live as modern-day pilgrims. 

Season 5 - Pilgrimage: The Road Through Portugal

Seven well-known personalities, with differing faiths and beliefs, meet in northern Portugal to tackle a modern-day Catholic pilgrimage. Known as the Northern Way, their destination is the famous sanctuary in the city of Fatima, one of the biggest Catholic pilgrimage destinations in the world. 

Travelling by foot, road and train are actor Su Pollard, who was raised in the Church of England; Jewish actress Rita Simons; Pentecostal born-again Christian Shane Lynch of Boyzone fame; reality TV star and influencer Vicky Pattison, who is agnostic; Bobby Seagull, a practising Catholic, maths whizz and TV personality; Nabil Abdulrashid, a comedian and practising Muslim; and Paralympian skier Millie Knight, who is non-practising Church of England. 

Season 6 - Pilgrimage: The Road Through North Wales 

Pilgrimage is back with a brand-new series, as seven well known personalities, of differing faiths and beliefs, tackle a modern-day pilgrimage, this time along the North Wales Pilgrim’s Way. 

Season 6 will follow the celebrity pilgrims, as they take a personal journey along a route that celebrates Celtic early Christian saints. Their final destination is Bardsey Island, the fabled ‘Island of 20,000 saints’, just off the western tip of the Llyn Peninsula.

Immersing themselves on this spiritual journey are: wild life presenter Michaela Strachan who places her faith in the natural world;  Spencer Matthews, a former Made in Chelsea reality star, who was christened Church of England but is still searching for answers to life’s big questions; Sonali Shah, a journalist and TV presenter who grew up in a Jain family; comedian Eshaan Akbar, a lapsed Muslim; Amanda Lovett, a practising Catholic, who catapulted into the public eye in the first series of Traitors; actor Tom Rosenthal of Friday Night Dinner fame, who is areligious; and TV personality and former model Christine McGuinness, who is spiritual but doesn’t practise one particular faith.

Travelling on foot and by bus, the pilgrims begin their adventure from the start of the 220km Pilgrim’s Way near St Winefride’s Well. In a journey taking two weeks, they will be faced with challenging paths and climbs as they traverse North Wales, tackling the foothills of spectacular mountain ranges. Carrying their own backpacks, they’ll sleep in basic accommodation from a caravan to a climbers’ hut, as well as experiencing an eco-retreat in an ancient oak forest and a Buddhist meditation centre.

"A truly thought-provoking and well-made piece of telly". TV TIMES MAGAZINE
"Surprising, moving and pretty extraordinary". RADIO TIMES
"A hugely emotional trip". THE GUARDIAN
"It’s a truly insightful and enjoyable series that takes a look at how we all relate differently to faith." THE DAILY MAIL - Pick of the day

DURATION

Season 1 - 6: 18 x one hour

BROADCASTER

BBC

YEAR OF PRODUCTION

2018 - 2024

PRODUCED BY

CTVC Limited

COUNTRY OF PRODUCTION

UK

Executive Producers

Caroline Matthews, Colm Martin, Robert Thirkell

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