Snow Going Back: Comic Relief v the Arctic | Preview (BBC One)

As the headline piece for this year’s Red Nose Day campaign, four brave female celebrities head to the Arctic Circle to take part in Comic Relief’s coldest ever challenge.

Laura Whitmore, Alex Scott, Sara Davis and Vicky Pattison will attempt a four-day, 50km polar expedition that involves climbing thousands of feet as they circumnavigate the Markusfjellet Peak, using fatbikes, snowshoes and cross-country skis, and pulling everything they need behind them on sledges that weigh over 20kg each.

In this unforgiving landscape, temperatures drop as low as minus 30 degrees centigrade and wind speeds exceed 100 miles per hour. Frostbite, hypothermia, avalanche and the risk of getting lost in a white-out are the daily dangers faced by these four intrepid women.

Vicky Pattison said: “Everyone assumes that because I’m from the North East, I’m going to be able to handle the cold and that’s a complete lie. Everyone also thinks that because I was in the jungle, I’m like Bear Grylls in a bra…but I’m not! I like my home comforts, so camping in minus 20 degrees is out of my comfort zone and it makes me a little bit nervous, but a little bit excited as well!”

“There will be moments where I just want to give up, but I think what’s going to keep me going is the reason why I’m doing it. I was able to see first-hand where the money that Comic Relief raises goes, when I visited food bank and community hub, Hebburn Helps, which receives food from the Comic Relief-funded organisation, Fareshare.

"I found volunteering there so illuminating; most of us associate poverty and hunger with something happening miles away, you don’t think it’s happening on your doorstep. But it is – I saw how the work of Hebburn Helps and Fareshare is more important than ever. Donations to Red Nose Day are incredibly beneficial to charities like this and I saw that first hand.”

Alex Scott said: "This challenge is going to be so gruelling; I’ve never done anything like it before, I’ve never even been skiing, so just being out on the snow might be a problem! I’m used to having that captain’s arm band on and people seeing me as a leader because I was that athlete, but this is all new so I think you might see a different side to me.  Yes, I’ll bring the fun and keep everyone going, but I think I might need my team mates to pull me through this one.

"I’m naturally competitive with myself, I don’t want to let anyone down, but what will really keep me going is the end goal of raising as much money as we can for Comic Relief, which will go a long way in helping change a lot of lives in the UK and around the world."

Sara Davies said: “Comic Relief is something we sit down and watch as a family every year and last year I followed Emma Willis, Oti Mabuse and Rylan on the trek in Scotland and my son said to me, ‘Mammy that’s so amazing, why didn’t you go and help?’ It really hit home to me that I know I’m in a privileged position where I can go and do something to help raise funds, to do my bit, so this year that’s exactly what I’m doing...

“Mentally I think I can talk myself into whatever I need to do, but I’m worried about the technical side. I’ve never skied before, I’d never seen a ski in real life before we started training, so this whole adventure is pretty new territory for me.” 

Laura Whitmore said: "I’ve been a part of supporting Comic Relief for as long as I can remember, and I love that the whole country and further afield gets behind it. It brings people together for a great cause, so I hope we can do that again this year – the bar is certainly set high with the likes of Greg James, Davina McCall, Emma Willis, Rylan, and Oti Mabuse having completed challenges before, that will give me the extra push to get to the end...

"I think it’s so empowering to be part of Comic Relief’s first ever celebrity all-female group like this. I think we’re all pretty tough cookies and we’ll all work really hard and push each other to persist, to hopefully raise a considerable amount of money. That’s the end goal that will keep us all going at the times when we’re absolutely freezing."

Snow Going Back: Comic Relief v the Arctic airs Monday 11th March on BBC One.