It’s the new BBC show that will test eight celebs to the max, as they embark on a gruelling adventure in the sub-zero temperatures of Northern Italy.
Presented by Holly Willoughby and comedian Lee Mack, Freeze The Fear will see “The Iceman” Wim Hof put the group – singer Alfie Boe, songwriter Chelcee Grimes, broadcaster Owain Wyn Evans, Strictly professional Dianne Buswell, actress Tamzin Outhwaite, former footballer Patrice Evra, presenter Gabby Logan, and rapper Professor Green – through their paces for six episodes.
Living together in a tented village, they’re tested with challenges like walking barefoot in snow and taking freezing showers under the watchful eye of Wim, 62, a Dutch “extreme athlete” who found fame for his endurance feats in freezing conditions and his deep breathing techniques, which he claims are good for health.
A self-confessed fan of Wim, Holly says she was drawn to his “simple” life improvements.
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“I’m always looking for things to make life a little bit easier or better,” the This Morning host, 41, tells Closer. “And if I’m going to explore something, it has to be quite simple that fits in my life. Somebody told me, ‘There’s this guy called Wim Hof and he does this breathing thing,’ and I was like, ‘Well, I’ve been breathing since the day I was born, I can do that!’ I think that’s the key to success, if it’s something that is simple, it can become part of your life.”
Having seen his wife become hooked on Wim’s ethos, Holly’s TV producer husband Dan Baldwin took on the task of producing the series.
She says, “I told Dan about him, but not for a show idea, just kind of that he’s amazing, and we should do the breathing thing. And if we’re brave enough, maybe we can jump in a cold shower – not together though, separately! We both really love Wim’s ideas. Dan’s obviously always working and thinking of ideas and thought, ‘Could this be something to explore?’ They created the most incredible show around it. For a show set in the cold, it had a whole lot of warmth.”
Surprisingly, while the brave stars faced harsh conditions to test themselves mentally and physically, Holly admits she felt slightly envious.
“As the whole process was going on, I was so jealous of what they were doing. Because you could see the transformation, you could see the change, you could see what they were coming away with and it’s infectious. Like you want that for yourself. You want to be able to learn and even though I wasn’t jumping in the cold, I still came away with changes to my mindset just by being around it. I’m the biggest scaredy-cat in the world, I’m scared of everything – my fear is fear – and I’m really trying not to be and I’m getting better at it but anything I can find, anything I can add to my toolkit to help with that helps.”
Despite being slightly scared to try them herself, Holly’s keen for viewers to practise some of Wim’s techniques at home.“What’s so wonderful about the show is that everything you watch, you can do at home,” she reveals.
“Everyone’s got a shower which you can turn onto cold, you can practise your breathing. These are very simple things that you can put in your own life.”