'Hit the floor' Countdown’s Nick Hewer, 78, addresses sudden 'fall' amid Pilgrimage debut
express.co.ukThe Apprentice star, 78, admitted he felt he “deserved a little more dignity” at his age when camera crew would film him waking up.It comes as BBC2’s show Pilgrimage is back, and this time, a group of celebrities will be seen retracing the steps of St Columba, a sixth-century Irish monk who spread Christianity from Ireland to pagan Scotland.Business pro Nick is one of the stars taking part in the journey, but he admitted that it wasn’t always easy.
One part of the trip that Nick found particularly troublesome was the rough sleeping arrangements. “Sleeping on the floor was a bore,” he admitted. “And the camera crew always want to film you waking up. “I think a 77-year-old deserves a little more dignity! “One night – as I was standing on my air mattress in the dark, half-cut – my foot got caught in my sleeping bag and I fell and hit the floor. “Let’s just say I slipped on the slopes of Glenfiddich,” he concluded.Previous seasons of the show have seen stars of various faiths travel to Santiago de Compostela, Rome and, most recently, Istanbul.
However, Covid restrictions scuppered any hopes of finding an exotic location for the show's next backpacking adventure.Instead, the celebs travelled from Donegal to the Scottish island of Iona, where St Columba established a monastic community in AD 563.The stars saw many areas of natural beauty along the way, including the Giant’s Causeway, the Mull of Kintyre and the Outer Hebrides.Nick is a self-confessed lapsed Catholic, who hasn’t kept his faith despite being sent off to a Jesuit boarding school at the age of 11.
The former Apprentice star was willing to have in-depth discussions about religion, however, which is a large part of the programme.
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