Seven celebrities of different faiths and backgrounds will be heading to Wales this year for a personal journey.
The BBC’s Pilgrimage is back, with seven well-known personalities of different faiths and beliefs taking on modern-day pilgrimage, this time along the North Wales Pilgrim’s Way.
Across the three-part series, the celebrities will go on a personal journey along a route that celebrates Celtic early Christian saints, with Bardsey Island the fabled ‘island of 20,000 saints’, just off the western tip of the Llŷn Peninsula, as their final destination.
Taking on the spiritual journey this year is former reality tv star turned entrepreneur Spencer Matthews, wildlife presenter Michaela Strachan, journalist and TV presenter Sonali Shah, comedian Eshaan Akbar, The Traitors star Amanda Lovett, actor Tom Rosenthal, and TV personality and former model Christine McGuinness.
“Pilgrimage is a series like no other; getting into the heart and soul of who we are and what makes life meaningful.
“All seven pilgrims embraced the journey wholeheartedly, with extraordinary honesty and generosity towards one another. It’s inspiring, and thought-provoking, to watch,” Daisy Scalchi, the BBC’s head of religion and ethics for television, said.
As they immerse themselves in the experience, read on for everything you need to know about the Pilgrimage 2024 line-up.
Pilgrimage: The Road to Wild Wales 2024 cast – Confirmed celebrity line-up
Spencer Matthews
Age: 35
Job: Former reality TV star and entrepreneur
Instagram: @spencermatthews
Religious background: Christened Church of England still searching for answers to life’s big questions
Spencer Matthews is a former reality TV star turned entrepreneur, who is best known for appearing on Made in Chelsea from 2011 to 2015. He’s now married to model Vogue Williams, with whom he has two children.
Speaking of why he decided to go on this journey, Spencer said: “A pilgrimage is when you walk and sleep on church floors and eat dead rats and stuff, which I’m looking forward to.
“I’d be pretty low in the faith knowledge bracket, but I’m on a quest to broaden my knowledge and religious horizons. I’m an open mind, an open book. I want to learn about different faiths, cultures and religions and develop a firm understanding of my faith and how it can potentially play a larger role in my life.”
Christine McGuinness
Age: 35
Job: TV personality and former model
Instagram: @mrscmcguinness
Religious background: Spiritual but doesn’t practise a particular faith
Christine McGuinness is a TV personality and former model. She appeared on ITVBe’s The Real Housewives of Cheshire between 2018 and 2020.
She got married to presenter Paddy McGuinness in 2011 – however, the couple, who have three children, separated in 2022.
Last year, Christine opened up about being diagnosed with ADHD and autism, revealing she now “understands” herself more, and it inspired her to take part in the BBC show.
“Since my autism diagnosis, it’s really made me want to grab opportunities with both hands. I want to say yes to more things, things that I would always say no to, because I find socialising quite awkward.
“I don’t really like being pushed out of my comfort zone, but I’m realising more and more that I want to live, I want to do more things, I want to have good memories, I want to make friends, I want to learn more about other people, and the only way I can do that is by pushing myself a bit,” she said.
Michaela Strachan
Age: 57
Job: TV presenter
Instagram: @strachan.michaela
Religious background: Michaela places her faith in the natural world
Michaela Strachan is a TV presenter best known for her work on wildlife series such as Springwatch and Really Wild Show.
“I think this pilgrimage is going to be really good for me. These days we all tend to live busy, complicated lives, and what I love about walking is all you’ve got to think about is putting one foot in front of the other. I find it very cathartic, it’s my form of meditation.
“There’s a simplicity to just walking. Walking, thinking, taking time to connect with nature. I guess that’s my form of spiritual engagement,” she said.
Amanda Lovett
Age: 56
Job: Reality TV star
Instagram: @amanda_lovett25
Religious background: Catholic
Amanda Lovett is best known for taking part in the first season of The Traitors UK back in 2022.
Speaking of why she decided to sign up for Pilgrimage, she said: “They say that if you go on a pilgrimage, there’s a hope that by the end of it there will have been some sort of realisation, so I’m looking forward to finding mine!
“I do have a strong Catholic faith. I still pray, and I believe there’s an afterlife, but I’m excited to explore other people’s faiths and religions and how they view life.
“I’ve always been the mum, the gran, the worker, and I sort of forgot about me. I’ve done school runs for 32 years, and I’ve found my time now. I’m looking forward to learning about myself, digging deep and processing and seeing how I’ll evolve in the future.”
Eshaan Akbar
Age: 39
Job: Reality TV star
Instagram: @eshaanakbar
Religious background: Lapsed Muslim
Eshaan Akbar is a comedian, writer and actor. He is of Pakistani and Bangladeshi ancestry and described himself as a “lapsed Muslim”.
“Why am I doing this pilgrimage? I’ll be honest, I think it’ll be fun, believe it or not. I’m not a great fan of walking without a purpose, I don’t like hikes, I don’t like going up and down different types of terrain, I don’t like sleeping in uncomfortable situations.
“My immigrant parents worked way too hard for me to start fetishising poverty by choosing to make my life too difficult. I’m really looking forward to the experience but I can’t promise that I won’t moan for most of it,” he said.
Sonali Shah
Age: 43
Job: TV and radio broadcaster
Instagram: @sonalishah
Religious background: Raised in a Jain household
Sonali Shah is a British TV and radio broadcaster who currently presents Sunday Breakfast on Magic FM, as well as BBC television programme Escape to the Country.
On Pilgrimage, she said: “It felt like the opportunity of going on a pilgrimage like this came at the right time in my life. I grew up in a liberal Jain, east African Indian household in north-west London, where faith, race and culture were very intertwined.
“While I have always been comfortable with who I am and the way I live, in recent years, with my kids asking more questions, I realised that using the word agnostic hasn’t been quite right. I was also curious about what, if anything, I could add to the party as someone who was born into a faith that many people have never heard of.”
Tom Rosenthal
Age: 43
Job: Actor and comedian
Instagram: @rosengrams
Religious background: “Areligious”
Tom Rosenthal is an actor and comedian, who is well-known for appearing on Channel 4’s Friday Night Dinner. He refers to himself as “areligious”.
Asked why he decided to sign up for the BBC show, he said: “I’ve always been interested by anybody with any thoughts as to what it is we are all doing here. It’s fairly confusing, and if I spend all my time watching Arsenal and the The Traitors I’m never going to find out.
“Dedicating myself to a pilgrimage for two weeks is a wonderful opportunity to reflect upon my spirituality and to make a TV show my grandmother will actually enjoy watching.”
Pilgrimage: The Road to Wild Wales 2024 will air on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer in March.
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