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Daily Record
Entertainment
Kirsten McStay

Rylan, Emma Willis and Oti Mabuse take on Cairngorms for Comic Relief

Rylan, Emma Willis and Oti Mabuse are taking on the Cairngorm Mountains in the Scottish Highlands, all for a good cause.

The trio will take part in the gruelling challenge to raise money for Comic Relief ahead of Red Nose Day on March 17.

The celebs will trek across the Scottish Highlands for three days and their adventure will be captured for a special documentary, which will air on BBC One and iPlayer.

Emma, Oti and Rylan's Red Nose Day Challenge will see the pals spend three punishing days and two freezing nights trekking over the brutal landscape of the Cairngorms National Park in the Highlands, immersed in a vast wintery landscape with no roads and little shelter.

To complete their mission, they will need to work as a team and become entirely self-sufficient as they take on wild camping.

Emma, Oti and Rylan take on the challenge for comic relief (2023 Comic Relief)

They will be equipped with ice axes and crampons and will battle the ever-changing elements to summit Cairngorm Mountain.

Setting off from Braemar next week, they will push their bodies to the limits, relying only on the provisions they can carry with them, in what will be one of the toughest physical and mental challenges of their lives.

The trio are already in Scotland to prepare for the trek and opened up about the challenge.

Emma Willis said she was taken out of her comfort zone with the challenge but it's for a great cause. She said: “I said yes to taking on this Red Nose Day challenge for a couple of reasons. First one being when Comic Relief asks, you should always say yes. Second one is, I love to do things that take me out of my comfort zone and I kind of made a promise to myself at the beginning of this year that I was going to do the things that scare me.

Emma, Oti and Rylan take part in the 'Frozen' Red Nose Day Challenge ((Photo by Hamish Frost/Comic Relief))

“It’s going to be difficult. And the more I talk about it, the harder it seems. I think you have to switch your brain into ‘there’s no other option, but to succeed’ mode. I got to visit a project that is funded by Comic Relief a few days ago that supports homeless young people and they were phenomenal so they will be the people at the forefront of my mind.”

Rylan said the trek isn't something he would ever chose to do. He added: “I've never been camping in my life. I've never slept in a tent. I have never worn camping attire. The only camping I do is camping it up on a Saturday night! I think the hardest part for me throughout this entire challenge is going to be the entire challenge.

"I'm not going to lie to myself - this isn't what I'm used to, and this isn't what I'd ever choose to do. But here I am, and I just hope I come out of it in one piece and don't lose any veneers in the snow.

“I think what's going to keep me going through the entire challenge is obviously the girls and knowing that we're doing it for a great cause. The better we do, fingers crossed, the more money we raise. Knowing where the money will go is definitely going to be my motivation when I'm ready to chuck it all in and call the chopper.”

Oti said: “I love everything about Red Nose Day. It feels like the whole country is coming together to help one another out and I feel like in this day and age it’s so important that we actually help each other. The money that we will hopefully raise will help a lot of people. I come from a country where we need a lot of help and being in this situation – being able to help in some way – for me, is what I’ve been raised to do.

“I’m so glad I don’t have to do this by myself. Things like this, and challenges like this can get lonely, especially the fact that we’re on the mountain for three days. I’m so glad I have people who are positive, who are so kind, who are so giving.”

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