Holly Willoughby and Lee Mack have say their new celebrity reality show is very different to anything seen before as there is no trying to “starve people and deliberately get rows going”.
Willoughby, 41, and Mack, 53, are the hosts of BBC One entertainment reality show Freeze The Fear With Wim Hof, inspired by the teachings of Dutch extreme athlete Wim Hof. Speaking ahead of the show airing, Mack explained the show has different aims to other celebrity challenge programmes on TV.
He said: “I’m not really a massive fan of this genre of television. But what I love about this one, is there’s no trying to be negative.
“What we’re not trying to do is starve people and deliberately get rows going and try and show that negativity that you see on a lot of these type of shows. It felt positive out there – and it came across as positive on there [the screen]. It felt like there was not too much negativity.”
Freeze The Fear With Wim Hof will see a group of celebrities embark on an “epic adventure of self-improvement, and face a unique test of mental strength like no other”. Willoughby, who previously presented I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! during regular host Ant McPartlin’s absence, said: “For a show that’s set in the cold, it had a whole lot of warmth."
Mack added: “Everyone in here has come across a lot of showbiz people and the ratio is probably about one in five are awful, but actually they were genuinely all great.”
Hof, 62, is also known as The Iceman. He has earned high-profile fans such as Liam Hemsworth through his wellbeing course, dubbed the Wim Hof Method, and by taking on extreme challenges himself.
Speaking about how the show will become tougher over its six episodes, Hof said: “Yes, tougher, but people have more control. So that’s what you see, it’s not about being tough.
“It’s about taking control over your own fears, going into deeper realms of the brain. And, again, get this deep control, suddenly, and then I saw amazing stuff. Amazing how these people were able to do all that.”
Mack also spoke about what it was like to work with Hof, who advocates for the positive effects of freezing cold temperatures. He described Hof as “the most real person I’ve ever seen on TV”.
Mack said: “Wim was amazing. I mean, he’s a proper bona fide lunatic. He’s the real McCoy, it’s not like for effect. Like everyone’s got a certain on-screen persona, but when the camera cuts, he carries on.
“He will show you the splits on camera and he will show you again off camera as well. I think anyone looks good on TV if they’re their real selves, and he is the most real person I’ve ever seen on TV.”
Hof said he hopes that, after watching the show, viewers will realise he is “bloody crazy”.
The famous faces involved in the show include singer Professor Green, Strictly Come Dancing professional Dianne Buswell and TV presenter Gabby Logan. Alfie Boe, Owain Wyn Evans, Patrice Evra, Chelcee Grimes and Tamzin Outhwaite complete the line-up of celebrity participants.
Freeze The Fear With Wim Hof airs on BBC One on April 11 at 9pm.
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