Freeze The Fear With Wom Hof | Interview with Lee Mack

Did you know of Wim Hof prior to doing the show?

I knew of him but just the very basics. I’ve talked about Buddhism in a podcast I did called “I Can’t Believe It’s Not Buddha” so I was aware of him through that.  I’d had one go at a breathing app of his on YouTube I think and I found that really intense.  I knew what Wim looked like, but that was about it, so it was entry-level – probably like a lot of viewers.

What was it like working with Wim superfan Holly for the first time as a presenting duo?

I’d worked with Holly before on other shows but in terms of doing a proper show with her, if I’m going to be honest that was probably my favourite part of the whole experience because, apart from being really lovely and very good at what she does, she’s also got this incredibly natural comic timing; there are a few little scripted inserts, tiny really, but as a comic and a writer those are the bits you are passionate about and want to get right and she just nailed them instantly.  I mean I’ve worked with a lot of people and she’s as good as any comedic actress or comedian in terms of nailing it and knowing where the jokes are.

What did you make of Wim?

Wim’s brilliant – I mean he’s crazy as hell but in all the best ways a bit nuts.  I’ve never known anyone so passionate about what he does.  He will talk on camera for ever about his subject and whereas most people in any profession, when the interview stops will talk about something else, he just carries on: ‘And cut’ and you will say ‘So how are you today Wim?’ and he will answer ‘Oh, it’s good because today I breathed and when you breathe it affects the brain at a certain level’ and you just go ‘Have a day off!’  So he’s full on with it but his enthusiasm and energy are contagious.  Put it this way, I’ve worked with Patrice Evra before, who is known as the crazy man of football, and even he found Wim a bit crazy!

What did you think of the way the celebrities coped? Do you think you would have been able to complete the challenges?

One hundred percent not!  I absolutely cannot tell you how much I wouldn’t have been able to do it, in fact not only would I not have been able to do it, I made it very clear from the outset that ‘Yes I would love to present this show but there are a few things you need to know, I am doing nothing, and when I say nothing I don’t mean a little but none of this.’ I don’t like heights for starters – but I suppose if I had to do one challenge I could have done the cold. In fact swimming under the ice was the one thing that got a lot of them and I remember thinking: ‘After everything you’ve done, I think that’s the one I might be able to do.’ But anything to do with heights… What was really interesting was there were effectively three categories that they did: the first based on fear which was often to do with heights; things to do with cold – so ice cold water and barely wearing anything in freezing temperatures – and breathing.  The one that affected them the most in terms of altering their psyche was the breathing.  That was where we saw the most emotional outpouring and tears; you think it would be the easiest one of the three because it’s ‘Lie on your back – and breathe – and relax’ but Wim’s not like that.

Have you seen that scene in ‘Full Metal Jacket’ where the sergeant major is just screaming at the soldiers?  That’s what it’s like.  It’s intense.  The session lasts about an hour and it’s full on. It’s not like relaxing, meditative breathing.  It’s the one thing I did try and I had to stop; I got quite light-headed and it actually hurts. You really do have to build yourself up to it…

How did you cope with the cold environment?

The real truth is I thought it would be quite amusing for me if the celebrities were in the cold and I was constantly wearing a fake fur coat with a mug of hot chocolate, but actually the reality is that I suffer from the opposite – so actually I’m too hot all the time, so even when it looks as if I’m wrapped up warm, most of the time I’m absolutely boiling!

What do you think viewers will take away from the series?

The two main things you can ‘do at home’ as it were are the breathing and the cold showers – and I should point out that the cold showers at home are entry level because your coldest water at home is nothing like as freezing as what the celebrities experienced, because they were faced by truly freezing cold water. I’ve been told that your water at home only gets to something like – well, I wouldn’t know – 10 degrees or so but this is as cold as you can get. I’ll guess viewers will take away the idea of giving it a go, the breathing and the cold showers.  Although I should add that there’s a lot of it that not only can’t they have a go at but they absolutely shouldn’t have a go because it’s really dangerous.  I don’t want people to go out and think ‘I’ll try and walk down a cliff face instead of abseiling normally or indeed swim under ice. I mean the entry level is brutal enough.  As for the cold showers– I’ve had one and they are horrific.  So if you can get through that that’s a great start to the first year of practising it! 

Any funny anecdotes from filming?

Holly introduced me to a card game called S*** Head – or whatever you want to call it!  That became an obsession of hers and mine and we played it at every opportunity. Also, I suppose I’ve always had a slightly perverse attitude towards comedy in that I want it to be really easy or really hard, I don’t want something in between the two.  There are moments when you’ve got eight celebrities stood on the ice wearing virtually no clothes and about to do something that’s terrifying and ‘It’s over to Lee now to say some amusing things’… You can definitely say in the world of comedy that this would be classed as a tough crowd.  I quite like that – when I tell a joke I want everyone to laugh or second best is no one laughing and you can say ‘Oh well, I found it funny.’  It’s very hard to make someone laugh when they’re stood there in their swimwear whilst crying… it’s hard enough making the Sunderland Empire laugh. Imagine that!