Helen Lederer admits she had fear of being ‘cancelled’ while filming BBC Pilgrimage: ‘Live in terrible times’
Helen Lederer admitted she was concerned she might be “cancelled” while taking part in BBC’s Pilgrimage.
The comedian, actress and writer, 70, trekked the Austrian and Swiss Alps in what will be the seventh series of the BBC programme, which follows a group of celebrities from different religions and belief systems as they embark on a personal journey.
Pilgrimage: The Road Through the Alps sees Lederer, Daliso Chaponda, Harry Clark, Jay McGuiness, Jeff Brazier, Nelufar Hedayat and Stef Reid hiking through the beautiful scenery steeped in religious history.
Speaking to GB News and other media about her experience, Lederer confessed: “I thought I’ll be cancelled.”
She went on: “We live in terrible times and words are very powerful so I just thought, ‘oh I’ll be cancelled.’
“Because I have some kind of background which is not my fault… So the journey was to help other people with mixed-heritage backgrounds to say, ‘It’s alright to talk about it,’ and it will be helpful for others.”
Lederer explained how she is “from a culturally Jewish background,” with a Jewish father and a Protestant mother.
During the grueling challenge, Lederer formed an unlikely friendship with The Wanted star, Jay McGuiness.
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Speaking at a press event ahead of the series seven launch, the two reflected together on their close bond, with Lederer helping McGuiness to come to terms with his grief.
McGuiness lost bandmate and close friend, Tom Parker, when he died of a brain tumour in 2022.
The 34-year-old explained: “I did get quite upset once, when I was chatting with Helen, I was I was talking about the passing of Tom Parker.
“And I had lots of anticipatory nerves, that that would probably happen at some point.
“But Helen is so funny, and I think there’s a nice mix of when you mix up being really, really authentic, and then someone’s totally taking the p***.
“It’s quite a nice way of eking out some of those things. So I cried more than I’ve ever cried on television.
“It’s a scary thing to think about, but with Helen, that was an interesting scene.”
Elaborating later on the emotional moment, he told GB News and others: “There was a poignant conversation that I had, and I sort of felt it coming.
“And Toni [Williamson, series producer] said ‘just tell me, who do you want to talk to about this stuff? Who do you trust with that?’
“And I mean, Helen isn’t shy to say what she thinks, but there were times where she did hold her tongue and sort of looked at me and went, ‘you thinking what I’m thinking?’
“We were talking about life after death and what that even is and I was kind of surprised but loved that Helen said, just clear as day ‘I believe in God, I don’t know if I’m an A* Jewish person but I believe in him or her, whatever that is’. I really admire her and it just felt nice.”