Jay McGuiness on ‘Pilgrimage: The Road Through the Alps’

Pilgrimage is back with a brand-new series starting in April on BBC Two and iPlayer, as seven well known personalities, of differing faiths and beliefs, tackle a challenging 300km pilgrimage through the majestic and awe-inspiring Austrian and Swiss Alps.

Across 3 x 60 minute episodes, Pilgrimage: The Road Through the Alps follows celebrity pilgrims as they bond and immerse themselves in a journey that starts just outside Innsbruck on the Austrian Camino, a revived medieval Catholic route. On foot and by bus, they 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.

On this physical and spiritual journey are agnostic Jay McGuiness, singer with boy band The Wanted; actor and comedy legend Helen Lederer, who comes from a mixed heritage with a culturally Jewish father and a Protestant mother; practising Catholic Harry Clark, winner of the second series of The Traitors; standup comedian Daliso Chaponda, who grew up in a religious Christian family but is now veering towards 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 practicing Christian Stef Reid and journalist Nelufar Hedayat, who refers to herself as a modern Muslim.

The seven pilgrims begin their Camino in the picturesque village of Inzing, 17km outside the Tyrolean capital. Over twelve days, they will face strenuous climbs high into the Alps and even reach the snow line. Carrying their own backpacks, they’ll stay in local guest houses, as well as sharing rooms in a convent and pilgrim hostels.

There will be tears and laughter, friendships made and once in a lifetime experiences achieved, but as the pilgrims make their epic journey through the breathtaking Alps, what revelations will they discover about their own faiths and those of their fellow travel companions?

AN INTERVIEW WITH JAY MCGUINESS

What were you expecting from your Pilgrimage experience?

I was tentatively expecting a good time and getting a new group together to go exploring sounded like a lot of fun.

Any revelations about yourself or your faith?

I think as far as faith goes, I’ve well and truly put the Catholic Church (as it stands) behind me. I’m a card-carrying agnostic and am open to whatever life throws at me.

Did you have to prepare in advance for the pilgrimage? What did you do?

I did try to find out who the other pilgrims were but to no avail.

What did you NOT do? In hindsight, was there anything you should have done to prepare yourself?

I think I should have spent a weekend alone and prepared myself to jump into two weeks of quite hectic fun with a new squad!

What was the biggest challenge you faced during this pilgrimage?

I think my biggest challenge was less alone time than I’m used to. We really did pilgrimage together and it reminded me of being a kid again, with four of us in one room. It was lots of fun but we had no privacy!

What was your highlight?

My highlight was possibly Helen’s birthday, where we stayed at a pilgrims hostel in Dallas, owned by a woman called Christine. For many reasons. Their house-farm was a really magical and back-to-basics place to rest our weary feet. Live animals, creepy dolls, creaky floorboards, Google translate, and getting scrubbed down in a bath with Harry from The Traitors by a cheeky Austrian woman.

What about the actual physical route – how would you describe it

I mean, the physical route was glorious. It was Lord of the Rings meets Postman Pat, meets Hansel and Gretel. Hills, mountains, forests, lakes, and the ever-changing sky.

Did you find the experience emotional?

I did get emotional talking with Helen about the passing of Tom (Parker). I spent my childhood being taught that if I followed the rules there would be an afterlife, but I don’t necessarily believe in that now I’m an adult, and that changes things. It was amazing to be told by a hilarious kind of Jewish woman “Look, I don’t really follow a lot of my stuff either, but I do believe in God.” She’s whip-smart, she’s been around the block, and she still has faith, and that is important to me for some reason.

Were you surprised by any of your fellow pilgrims’ reactions to any situations?

I wasn’t necessarily surprised when Nelufar shared some of the backlash she gets online from religious puritans, but it did affect me to see the emotional burden that that has had on her. It is part of what turns me off about all religions, real people that endure unnecessary pain.

Were you surprised by any of YOUR reactions?

I tried not to react as much as possible. The tears did come though.

Are you affiliated to any religion? If so, which? Do you practice?

I am agnostic. I practice that by being open to everything but rarely putting my eggs in one basket.

I’d say I’m a true agnostic but a cultural Catholic.

What helps you explain the world?

Science and history cover most of it. I don’t think religion does a great job of filling in the gaps. I think people do that far better.

Is your faith/religion something you have previously felt comfortable openly discussing with your peers, the public or within the press?

I’ve always been pretty comfortable discussing it, although I have had little need to before now.

Has the experience changed or increased your faith?

The experience has reinforced where I had come to deciding to be an agnostic. Maybe it’s something that I should pick over and look at again in a decade or so.

Were there any particular instances or experiences during the pilgrimage that triggered any kind of change?

No, I wouldn’t say so.

Is there any one thing you now do in your life that you didn’t do before you went on the Pilgrimage?

Yes, I now go to the pub with Helen Lederer!

Did you learn anything new about your own faith/beliefs while you were away?

Sadly, no.

Has the experience changed you in any way?

The only change would be in as much as broadening your horizons changes you in general, but no I feel like myself, but lucky to have met some really fun people.

There are twats everywhere but the whole pilgrimage crew were a great bunch to spend time with.

You spent two weeks with a group of strangers. Did you learn anything new about yourself through the experience?

No. I do love touring and all kinds of folks can make it work.

Did it highlight any particular strengths/weaknesses.

It highlighted that I can usually get on with most people, even though I’m a bit quiet at first, but I’d say that helped.

What did you learn about other faiths that you didn’t know before?

I suppose it did demystify a lot of religions for me. Catholics, Muslims, Jews, Bahá’ís etc are only different in a way that is quite surface-level. They are all pretty anti-lgbt+, anti-divorce and anti-abortion among other things, and I feel like many of their practitioners are much more accepting to those facts-of-life and yet subscribe to the faith anyway.

Prior to this pilgrimage, had you ever found yourself discussing faith and religion with your contemporaries before?

I had previously had these conversations with my band and other close pals, yes. But with my wider peers, no, never!

Did anything about this pilgrimage surprise you?

I mean, it’s silly, but Stef carried a spare prosthetic leg! I’d genuinely never considered that before and something about it was so charming. It’s an exquisite piece of kit, like a violin, and needs to be treated similarly at the airport.

What do you hope Pilgrimage viewers will take away from watching you take part in this series?

Primarily I hope they are entertained by the adventure we will be on and see a bunch of people from different backgrounds having a laugh and growing to really enjoy each other’s company.

Describe your feelings/emotions when you reached final moments of the Pilgrimage?

I was really grateful to be there, and I was really ready to get home and mull it all over! I definitely enjoyed my space away from pilgrimage, reflecting on it a lot.

Any other key moments or stories you want to share?

When all was said and done, Helen and me shared a taxi from the airport and she pulled a bottle of wine out of her bag which we shared, with no glasses and we just died laughing together all the way home.

Would you do it again?

I cannot say yes enough. Abso-f*cking-lootly!

Summarise your experience on this Pilgrimage

We saw some of the most beautiful scenes in Europe, had a really good time, and I think we all took it as a serious opportunity to see what a pilgrimage can offer a modern person. There’s plenty to find on a pilgrimage.Subscribed