Freeze The Fear won't be returning

Lee Mack has lost a TV job after the BBC axed its reality show Freeze The Fear with Wim Hof.

The comic co-presented the series with Holly Willoughby, commentating as eight celebrity contestants were put through physical challenges by the Dutch extreme fitness guru.

However, the programme did not catch the imagination of BBC One viewers when it first aired in 2022, with ratings described as ‘mediocre’.

Now the BBC has confirmed that the show won’t be returning. A spokesperson told The Sun: ‘There are no immediate plans for another series of Freeze the Fear on the BBC.’

Freeze The Fear was made by Hungry Bear, the production company headed by Willoughby’s husband Dan Baldwin. 

There was also a BBC Three companion show, Munya and Filly Get Chilly, fronted by Munya Chawawa and Yung Filly, below.

At the time the show was commissioned, Mack said: ‘My passions in life are Wim Hof, watching This Morning’in my undies, sub-zero temperatures, looking at celebrities sitting in cold water and free hotels. But trying to find a show that combines these has proved tricky. Finally I’ve found one.’

And Willoughby added that ‘Mack is a favourite in our house because he’s so hilariously funny’. 

Mack, 55, might not be too put out by the cancellation, as his ITV1 primetime quiz show The 1% Club has proved a hit. The first series –  which launched in the same week as Freeze The Fear – averaged 4.39 million viewers, and an expanded third series is in the pipeline this year.

Speculation about Willoughby’s career quit This Morning in October after a murder and kidnap plot against her. She only agreed to return to ITV’s Dancing On Ice – which she previously co-hosted with the now-shamed Philip Schofield – five days ago.

Published: 2 Jan 2024