Dan Walker has spoken out about being forced to confront his worst fears in a forthcoming episode with Helen Skelton.
The former BBC Breakfast presenter, 46, has teamed up with Helen, 46, for a new Channel 5 travel show on the Pennines.
Dan admitted to being moved to tears when travelling along the ‘Backbone of Britain’ ahead of Dan and Helen’s Pennine Adventure.
Reflecting on the production, the TV personality said: ‘There were a few tears along the way but mostly you have a nice hug, then you crack on.’
Dan added that the pals, who both competed on Strictly Come Dancing but in separate series, had been forced to face their phobias, which he explained were heights.
He continued: ‘If anything it was more about fear because I hate heights and I don’t really like horses. But I had to abseil down a 100-metre cave and go on the back of a horse, but I’m now best friends with a horse called Roger and I made it to the bottom of the cave.
‘As for the emotional side of it, if you’re with somebody for six weeks you go through the full range of emotions – serious, silly and everything in between.’
Helen, who claimed she has never been ‘fearless with anything’, said her motto was to ‘be afraid but do it anyway.’
Recalling Dan’s abseil, she said: ‘Dan was terrified but he did it. Fear is relative. It doesn’t matter whether you’re scared of a spider or abseiling out of a helicopter.
‘It doesn’t matter what you’re scared of, if you have a go at it anyway I think that’s incredible. Because that’s life, isn’t it?
‘You’ve got to do things that are scary and I think people will get a lot out of seeing Dan out of his comfort zone with the abseiling, although [laughs] there’s a bald patch of grass in North Yorkshire where he tore roots from the ground.’
Dan and Helen explore the epic mountain range on their doorstep in Pennine Adventure, beginning with Dan’s house in Sheffield and ending with the Countryfile presenter’s home in Cumbria.
According to the synopsis, the duo will ‘throw away the guidebooks and discover the “real” Pennines, as they ask the people who call the area home, for their suggestions of where to visit.’
It continues: ‘Putting themselves outside their comfort zones they’ll try some adventure sports, learn about the rich history of the places they visit and meet the proud men and women who safeguard this breath-taking landscape.’
Helen is apparently back on the dating scene after parting from her previous spouse of over ten years, Richie Myler, 33.
Meanwhile, Dan has been healing from a bike collision that he subsequently characterised as a “out-of-body experience.”
Dan & Helen’s Pennine Adventure comes to Channel 5 at 9pm on Tuesday August, 15.
Source My Celebrity Life.
