TV review: 71 Degrees North

71 Degrees North, STV today, 9pm

CELEBRITIES are usually a pampered lot. Not so the stars who take part in 71 Degrees North, an extreme new game show in which they swim, ski, trek and climb across the icy landscape to the Arctic circle in Norway.

Gavin Henson regularly puts his strength to the test as a Welsh rugby internationalist, but even the strapping sportsman admitted that some of the show's challenges tested him to the extreme.

"I had no idea what the show was really about or how tough it would be," the 28-year-old admits.

"I risked my life at least seven or eight times, it was wild! We had to do an ice swim and that was terrifying. I was the most scared I've ever been. Imagine being under the water and above you is a metre thick of ice and you're trying to get out."

Henson admits he couldn't suppress his competitive streak, which is possibly why he ended up with hypothermia, after pushing himself too hard in the fjord swimming challenge .

"I couldn't talk properly, I'd lost all movement, my organs started shutting down, it was scary," he says. "But I was quite glad I had a glimpse of it, to know what it's like."

Susie Amy, best known for her role as Chardonnay in Footballers' Wives, was also shocked by the ice swim - not least because she was expecting something a little more luxurious. "They asked us to pack swimwear and implied it could be for a Jacuzzi reward night - we didn't know we were going to be plunged into freezing water," the 28-year-old laughs.

But it wasn't just the challenges which tested the mettle of the contestants. Bra pioneer Michelle Mone, who set up the company Ultimo, had a rude awakening when she realised all that was separating her from the bitter conditions every night were the thin walls of a communal tent.

The 38-year-old says: "I actually thought there would be a hotel at night to stay in and I took my hairdryer, straightening irons and make-up - and within 24 hours it had frozen! I really, didn't expect it to be so tough."

Tennis ace and television presenter Andrew Castle agrees.

"To be in a tent when it's minus 38, that's hard. Especially when you've put the tent up and had the longest day of all time doing things you didn't know you were going to do, or even could do.

"On the first night everything on my body from the neck down froze - and I mean everything," he says with a meaningful stare.

In the downtime between snow cave building, reindeer herding and mountain trekking, there was no room for airs and graces.

Marcus Patric, who used to play Ben in Hollyoaks, says it became normal to see each other head off across the ice to relieve themselves. The girls found it harder to lose their inhibitions.

Amy recalls a particularly uncomfortable night when she tried to stave off the call of nature.

"The men could do it in bottles but as a girl, waking up in the middle of the night and needing to go is absolutely horrific. One night I thought to myself, 'I'll wait 'til the morning, I'm OK, I'll hold it in'. Then, in the middle of the night I had that stabbing feeling. I was in tears because I'd vaguely got dressed, went out and was so cold and so miserable, I thought, 'I might die out there'," she says.

A lover of her personal space, Mone had to face living in close quarters with others.

She explains: "When we were trained by the safety person they said, 'You have to cuddle your partner, warm them up, check for hypothermia and check for frostbite, and I said, 'No-one cuddles me, I don't want anyone to touch me, I don't want anyone near me', and before we all knew it we were rubbing and cuddling each other."

While the contestants are keeping quiet about how well they fared in the tasks, they're simply gushing about how they 'broke the ice' and bonded.

"It wouldn't be my first choice for a holiday, but the people were ace, our group really got on," says Joe Absolom, best known for formerly playing Matthew Rose in EastEnders.

Gardeners' World presenter Diarmuid Gavin might have 'exploded' a few times at the harsh conditions, but that didn't stop him making lasting friendships with his fellow competitors.

"There was a club spirit. You're concerned for everybody, you see the best in people and so it's always enjoyable to meet up."

71 degrees north - extra time

n Each week the celebrities are divided into two teams and tasked with a terrifying challenge. Two team leaders are chosen and have to pick their teams in school playground fashion.

n Other contestants taking part include TV presenter Konnie Huq and EastEnders actor Shane Richie, who drove everyone mad at night with his snoring.

n The show is presented by Kate Thornton and Gethin Jones. Thornton was the only member of the party who got injured - fracturing her ribs after a fall.

n 71 Degrees North is based on a Norweigian show and is so called because 71 Degrees is the latitude of the most northerly point of mainland Europe.