The Adventure Show returns to BBC Scotland this month with two new presenters, Calum Maclean and Marie Meldrum.
Gaelic speaker and BBC Alba star, Calum Maclean, who lives in Aberfeldy, Perthshire, has built a strong online following as a result of wild swimming in Scotland. A TikTok video of him in 2022 swimming in Loch Morar, Britain’s deepest body of freshwater, attracted 14 million views in two days.
Calum, also a triathlete, is joined on the programme by fellow triathlete Marie Meldrum from Fort William, Lochaber. The secondary school teacher and adventurer has found solace and inspiration in taking on increasingly difficult outdoor challenges in the face of personal tragedies.
Calum said: “I was delighted to be approached to present The Adventure Show. I’ve been an avid viewers for years and always loved the events and stories of ordinary people doing extraordinary feats.
“For me, this is an exciting new adventure and I’m really happy to be working with Marie who is a brilliant triathlete and someone whose reputation goes before her.”
Marie added: “I’m so excited about taking on this new challenge. I’m passionate about the benefits of being outdoors and urging people to try things they would never have imagined themselves being able to achieve.
“Calum is fantastic to work with and The Adventure Show epitomises everything I believe in, including getting out in the fresh air to improve mental health and making connections with other people.”
The Adventure Show, which is now in its 19th series, will air on Sunday February 18 at 8pm. It will also be available afterwards on iPlayer. Featuring in the first show of 2024, is the Strathpuffer Mountain Bike Endurance Event, which took place in January. This annual 24-hour winter competition involves cycling for around 17 hours in darkness in the forest at Contin, near Strathpeffer, north of Inverness.
Marie will be taking part, with Calum joining her for a lap to keep her going.
Meanwhile, British cyclist and Paralympian, Karen Darke, tackles an alternative route suitable for adaptive bikes.
Who is Calum Maclean?
Calum, 35, who grew up in Inverness, is well known as a keen cold water swimmer and adventurer. He said: “I love the challenge of taking on new, and ever more ambitious, outdoor adventures and Scotland’s natural landscape offers great opportunities to do just that.”
Calum is a Gaelic speaker and has presented three series about outdoor swimming on BBC ALBA. He also presents a programme teaching viewers Gaelic.
Find out more about Calum here and his longest straight line challenge.
Who is Marie Meldrum?
Setting herself a series of personal trials is what keeps Marie going. Through good times and bad, the 48-year-old Business Studies teacher from Fort William keeps pushing herself on to the next challenge, be that getting up at 5am every day to swim in a loch or running 3000 miles in a thousand days.
Triathlete Marie, who has a grown-up daughter Luci, is a well-known figure in the international outdoor adventure scene. She has taken part in many of Scotland’s extreme challenge events, winning several, including Celtman!, Relentless 24 and The ROC Scotland. She regularly takes part in other endurance events at home and abroad.
Competing in events and setting herself challenges, has helped in the face of personal tragedy. This includes the death two years ago of her husband Donnie and her father’s suicide in 2014.
“It would be easy to shut yourself away,” she says. “But going for an early morning swim, a bike ride, or a run helps. You don’t necessarily talk to friends about the bad things. The combination of companionship and exercise can be all you need.
“I have been involved with The Adventure Show team for a few years and I can’t wait to take up this new role alongside Calum. We first met in 2016 taking part in a swimming and running event, Hell’s Hop, in which competitors swim across the Sound of Barra. We had to stand on the side of a tall ship anchored between Barra and South Uist and jump into the biggest waves imaginable. Then, we swam and ran across the island!”
See The Adventure Show.