Former Made In Chelsea star Spencer Matthews has explained why he questioned whether Jesus was a real person on upcoming BBC programme Pilgrimage: The Road Through North Wales.
The TV personality, who hosts the Big Fish podcast, said that Bible miracles sound “mad”, adding: “I kind of thought that the people in the (Bible) stories could also be made up.”
Matthews stars in the sixth series of the BBC Two show, and is joined by TV presenter Sonali Shah, comedian Eshaan Akbar, The Traitors’ Amanda Lovett, Friday Night Dinner star Tom Rosenthal and former model Christine McGuiness, as they traverse North Wales.
Speaking at a Q&A event for the forthcoming series, Matthews addressed the moment he questioned Jesus’ existence on the show.
“By the way, the Jesus being real thing, just to reference it,” he said.
“I think I’m a bit confused with Old Testament and New Testament – and parting of the seas and the turning water into wine all sounds mad to me, so I kind of thought that the people in the stories could also be made up.”
In the programme Matthews asks Akbar: “Jesus Christ definitely existed?
“I thought he could have been made up… that’s not disputed, no?”
He also asks Akbar if the prophet Mohammed was Allah.
“Mohammed is Allah, is he?” he says.
“He’s a prophet of God,” Akbar responds.
During the Q&A, Matthews also discussed the death of his brother Michael and how he felt “accepted” by the group after he opened up about it on the show.
His brother disappeared into blinding snow hours after becoming the youngest Briton to summit Mount Everest in May 1999. His death was explored by Matthews in documentary Finding Michael.
Asked which moments from the pilgrimage he will treasure, Matthews said: “I felt like as a group, we experienced quite a few things, moments along the way.
“I think eventually getting to see Bardsey Island was very beautiful and united us still, even though it was towards the end of the trip.
“I think there was a time at the, what would you call it, the Eco retreat? Where we were kind of cold plunging and bits and bobs.
“And later that evening, we came together for dinner, which Eshaan very kindly cooked, and spoke about forgiveness, which I think runs quite deeply throughout most religion.
“And it kind of took me back to my time on Everest where I was able to let go of quite a lot of resentment that I was holding against people that I felt could have done a better job helping my brother that passed.
“And it just felt a nice moment. I’m not the best emotionally and I felt very kind of welcomed and accepted in the group for sharing the story.
“And I think that’s when things kind of turned for me, I began to be a bit more open to the spiritual experiences that we shared as a group and it was quite a meaningful time.”
The sixth series of Pilgrimage sees seven famous faces from varying faiths and beliefs embark on a 220km route that celebrates Celtic early Christian saints.
In the three hour-long episodes, the celebrities tackle North Wales Pilgrim’s Way – which is linked by ancient churches and dedicated to sixth and seventh-century saints.
Pilgrimage: The Road Through North Wales starts on March 29 and will be available to watch on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer.