TV presenter Louise Minchin was forced to end the ambitious challenge early (Picture: Instagram)
Former BBC Breakfast presenter Louise Minchin has shared how she has been rushed to hospital after being stricken with frostbite.
Louise, 57, had been attempting to raise money for The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award by participating in the Inuvik Weekend Warrior Fat Bike Challenge.
This would have involved her cycling 300 miles in three days in the Artic Circle in Canada.
Louise – who was lead presenter on BBC Breakfast from 2012 to 2021 – was joined by professional sportswoman Mimi Anderson – an endurance athlete and World Record holder.
However, their attempt was cut short when they both developed frostbite and were forced to abandon the race after 140 kilometres.
The pair shared their news from the hospital room, where Louise showed off two sets of bandaged fingers.
Louise appeared on BBC Breakfast for 20 years (Picture: ITV/Shutterstock)
In the video – shared to their social media accounts – Louise said: ‘So turns out that temperatures of minus 40 for 14 hours mean that you get frostbite.’
After explaining that she and Mimi had been given ‘amazing treatment at a local hospital, she held her bandaged hands up to the camera and joked, ‘Fingers crossed we’re going to be fine.’
Detailing how she’d been frostbitten in ‘every toe’ and ‘a thumb,’ she said that Mimi had it in ‘three fingers’ too.
In the background, a smiling Mimi also showed off her own bandaged appendages.
‘If you’re going to get frostbite, the people here are incredible,’ Louise said of the hospital staff.
She went on to thank fans for their concern and explained that they’d be spending the next five days together in the hospital.
Meanwhile, in the caption, Louise went into more detail about what had happened.
‘We did around 140k in temperatures as low as -40 degrees,’ she explained.
‘When we got to this point, both of us knew we were very dangerously cold. The combination of the temperature and wind meant that, despite having prepared as much as we could have it was a huge risk to go on.
‘Turns out we were right to stop. We both have frostbite and are being incredibly well looked after. At the moment, we remain in good spirits.’
Prior to their video update, Louise shared a snap of her and Mimi huddled up on the hospital floor in sleeping bags.
Revealing that they were ‘out of the race,’ she described their experience as ‘brutal.’
Louise stepped down from her post in 2021 (Picture: PA)
In the comments below their video, well-wishers shared messages of support for the pair.
This included former Blue Peter presenter Helen Skelton, who said of their 140 kilometres: ‘What an achievement so far.’
Meanwhile, fellow BBC Breakfast alumnus Susanna Reid sent ‘big hugs,’ as Sally Nugent urged her to ‘take care.’
Penned author Adele Parks: ‘What a huge achievement doing 140k! So proud of you both. Especially proud for recognising when you need to get in doors!! So sorry to hear about the frostbite!!!’
She signed off by telling the women to ‘take excellent care of each other and please please please get fully better soon.’
Louise was joined by Rob Beckett, Ellie Taylor and Joel Dommett for the celebrity specialof Gladiators (Picture: BBC / Graeme Hunter / © Hungry Bear Media Ltd)
In 2024, Louise took on another massive challenge – participating in Gladiators at 55 years old.
She joined Joel Dommett, Rob Beckett and Ellie Taylor as part of the BBC show’s celebrity edition, describing the experience as ‘absolutely hilarious, terrifying, and utterly brilliant.’
She told Metro at the time: ‘I was 55 when I did it, I was really worried, I’ve got really bad knees and all sorts of things. I was kind of worried going into it that I would fall over or twist my knee, hurt my ankle, so yeah, I was really worried.’
She went on to share how, although they’d had advance warning it’d be tough, there wasn’t nearly as much preparation time as regular contestants get.
Louise continued: ‘So yeah, I was absolutely terrified that I was going to hurt myself. The next day, I was in agony, because you are properly put through your paces in lots of different ways, bashed around and falling over, so the next day I could hardly walk, but it was all worth it.’
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