As the popular series returns to our screens, Max Avard reviews the first episode of Pilgrimage and finds that kindness, not drama and controversy, makes for reality TV gold.
After past series featured celebrities trekking across Spain, Italy, Turkey and Scotland, BBC Two’s Pilgrimage is back for its fifth series.
The latest outing finds seven well-known faces – of differing religious beliefs – travelling along the northern route of the Fátima Way in Portugal, exploring spiritual questions as well as basking in the sunshine and enjoying healthy amounts of Portuguese cuisine.
Among the cast of pilgrims are Pentecostal born-again Christian, Shane Lynch of Boyzone fame; reality TV star and agnostic Vicky Pattison, practicing Catholic and University Challenge whiz Bobby Seagull and actor Su Pollard, who was raised in the Church of England.
Their destination is the Sanctuary of Fátima, a previously small village which has become one of the most popular Catholic pilgrimage destinations in the world, welcoming 70,000 pilgrims every year.
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