The Wanted star Jay McGuinness broke down in tears on new BBC show Pilgrimage and had to stop being filmed as he was so upset about his bandmate Tom Parker.
The emotional scenes are played out in the second episode of the programme which sees Jay and six other celebrities go on a “spiritual journey” across the Alps. In the scenes, he is seen talking to comic Helen Lederer when he gets teary and excuses himself from filming so he can “sob in the toilet”.
Speaking beforehand, Jay said he expected there to be some tears on the programme. “I had a lot of anticipatory nerves before the show,” he says. “I knew I’d talk about Tom Parker at some point during filming.”
And he said afterwards of the scenes: “I cried more than I’ve ever cried.” The Wanted star Tom died at the age of 33 after being diagnosed with terminal brain cancer in 2022.
The singer had told fans in October 2020 that he had an inoperable tumour. And Jay said that he still spoke to Tom – and always wondered if he could hear him.
He admitted: “I have yes …it’s a conversation which always be coloured by the question of like ‘can you even hear this?’” Jay added of his bandmate being diagnosed: “With Tom, they knew it was serious quite quickly and there wasn’t really lots they could do, and I think it felt really senseless.
“While he was sick, I definitely had moments that I would say I prayed, and then when he passed away I sort of felt like, ‘I wonder if he can hear me now’.
“I felt that did really sort of ignite a lot of questions that I’ve left unanswered, and in some ways, I know I’m searching for that catharsis, I’m really open to the idea there’s something out there.
“If we do all go into some global consciousness, that we call God or whatever, then Tom would be there, and I’d be able to speak to him, but whether he can speak back is another question.”
Jay said that he went on the show to explore his faith. He said: “I agreed to go on this Pilgrimage because it just sounded the perfect thing to do. I was born and raised in Nottinghamshire to an Irish Catholic family and we’d go to our Catholic school and sing church songs and on Sunday, we’d all go and sit next to each other on the pew. But as time’s gone on, I think that the rule book that comes with being a Catholic, is too judgmental for where I am.
“I think the closest I can get to what I am, would be considered agnostic. I don’t believe there is a God, and I don’t believe there isn’t. I think it’s impossible for us to know, and maybe that’s what being a human is; we are stuck here in this mortal realm, and you only find out once you go beyond the curtain. But I would love to know a little bit more about what I am. So, I’m looking forward to that. Who knows what I’ll find on this Pilgrimage.”
In the three-part BBC2 show, Jay joins presenter Jeff Brazier, comedian Helen , The Traitors winner Harry Clark, comedian Daliso Chaponda, Paralympic athlete Stefanie Reid and journalist Nelufar Hedayat. Together, they walked nearly 186 miles from Austria to the sacred abbey of Einsiedeln in Switzerland over 12 days.
PILGRIMAGE: THE ROAD THROUGH THE ALPS airs over three episodes: Sunday 20, Monday 21 Tuesday 22 April, 9pm on BBC Two BBC iPlayer. Catch all three episodes on BBC iPlayer from Sunday 20 April
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