Channel 4’s hit celebrity skiing show, The Jump, will be back on the screens in the new year, and, like the first series last winter, it will be filmed in Kühtai.
This year’s line-up
The line-up for the new series has now been announced in full. The competitors are:
• Mike Tindall, former England rugby captain and husband of Zara Phillips
• Sally Bercow, wife of the Speaker of the House of Commons
• JB Gill, singer with JLS
• Heather Mills, ex-model, formerly married to Paul McCartney
• Phil Tufnell, former England test cricketer
• Louise Hazel, Commonwealth gold medallist for the heptathlon
• Jon-Allan Butterworth, Paralympian cyclist
• Ola Jordan, from Strictly Come Dancing
• Dom Parker, from the TV show Gogglebox
• Ashley Roberts, former member of the Pussycat Dolls
• Joey Essex, from the reality show The Only Way Is Essex
• Stacey Solomon, contestant on The X Factor
• Steve-O, from Jackass
• Louise Thompson, from Made in Chelsea
• Louie Spence, dancer
• Lady Victoria Hervey, socialite
Davina McCall, who hosted the first series, will return for the second.
The contest
The Jump consists of a series of challenges between the contestants, using winter sports including ski cross, giant slalom, skeleton, bobsleigh and speed skating, with new events rumoured for this year. The two competitors with the slowest times or speeds on each event must go head-to-head on a ski jump, with the loser eliminated.
The contestants train hard, but the challenges are by no means safe. On the last series, Henry Conway, Melinda Messenger, Sir Steve Redgrave and Marcus Brigstocke were all forced to withdraw with injury — though, thankfully, none of them serious. The overall winner was singer Joe McElderry, who had joined the line-up as a replacement for Conway.
The venue
The various challenges are held in different locations around Austria, but the show’s home is Kühtai, the highest resort in Austria and arguably the most spectacular. Only 35 minutes from Innsbruck, Kühtai lies in a huge snow bowl in the middle of spectacular alpine scenery, with an impressive range of pistes on offer. The mixture of convenience, the quality of the slopes, the scenery — and, of course, the kind of après-ski that only Austria can offer — make it a favourite with everyone from families to professional skiers.
You never know. If you’re holidaying in Kühtai this winter, you might bump into one of The Jump’s celebrities, whether on the slopes or in après-ski. That would be something to make a great holiday even more memorable.
