Pilgrimage, the show in which celebrities of differing faiths and beliefs go on a personal, physical and spiritual journey, is returning, with the cast announced for season 7.

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The new season, which will air on BBC Two and iPlayer in April, will follow a new group celebrity pilgrims on a journey through the Alps, travelling along along a revived medieval Catholic route.

Over 12 days, they will travel from just outside Innsbruck on the Austrian Camino and finish near Lake Zurich in Switzerland.

The group taking part this year includes singer Jay McGuiness, who is agnostic, actor and comedian Helen Lederer who is from a mixed heritage background, with a culturally Jewish father and a Protestant mother, and practising Catholic Harry Clark from The Traitors season 2.

They will be joined by comedian Daliso Chaponda, who grew up in a Christian family but is exploring the Baha’i faith, presenter Jeff Brazier, who went to Catholic schools but now is spiritual and meditates as part of his everyday life, retired Paralympian and practising Christian Stef Reid and journalist Nelufar Hedayat, who refers to herself as a modern Muslim.

Daliso Chaponda, Harry Clark, Stef Reid, Helen Lederer, Nelufar Hedayat, Jay McGuiness and Jeff Brazier for Pilgrimage: The Road Through the Alps
Daliso Chaponda, Harry Clark, Stef Reid, Helen Lederer, Nelufar Hedayat, Jay McGuiness and Jeff Brazier for Pilgrimage: The Road Through the Alps BBC/CTVC

According to the BBC, the new season will see "the seven pilgrims begin their Camino in the picturesque village of Inzing, 17km outside the Tyrolean capital".

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The synopsis for the season continues: "Over twelve days, they will face strenuous climbs, high into the Alps, even reaching the snow line. They will follow the ancient path west across the Arlberg pass, the highest point on the Camino, and continue to their final destination in the foothills of the Swiss Alps, Einsiedeln Abbey.

"Originally inspired over a thousand years ago by followers of the famous hermit St Meinrad, the abbey attracts almost a million pilgrims and visitors every year. They are drawn by its venerated Black Madonna, its unique history and the Benedictine monks who live and worship there.

"Armed with a backpack each, the pilgrims will stay in local guest houses, as well as sharing rooms in a convent and pilgrim hostels."

Brazier said of taking part: "The best way to describe my faith is spiritual. I would say the universe is what guides me, the universe just chucks whatever I need at me, whenever I need it. To answer the question – what is God – is a really tough one, but for me right now, I would say God is love; so God can be within all of us.

"I also love learning from people and on our Pilgrimage, there is every chance that there might be some sort of transformation in terms of my beliefs, my views. So, I see it as a wonderful opportunity to just explore some themes and some conversations that I probably don't have very often."

Meanwhile, Lederer said: "The concept of a Pilgrimage is probably one of endurance, challenge, pain, anxiety, difficulties. So obviously I was drawn to it! I think it's an opportunity that probably won't present itself to me again.

"My faith is that I believe in God but I'm not sure what the God is. My father was born into a Jewish family. Although my Czechoslovakian grandparents were cultural Jews, they never talked about faith. My mother came from the Isle of Wight, and I’m told I was christened.

"Being a mix means that you have respect for both things and there is a particular quality I'm learning and feeling more as I get even older, that you can't shed your background. So, with my mixed background, with all the pain of my family that isn't mine, but theirs, I want to be able to turn it into something that will give me a bit of peace."

Pilgrimage season 7 will air on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer.

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Authors

James HibbsDrama Writer

James Hibbs is a Drama Writer for Radio Times, covering programmes across both streaming platforms and linear channels. He previously worked in PR, first for a B2B agency and subsequently for international TV production company Fremantle. He possesses a BA in English and Theatre Studies and an NCTJ Level 5 Diploma in Journalism.

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