| Genre: | Reality game show |
| Presenter: | Chris Evans |
| Voices: | Nick Fellows |
| Country: | United Kingdom |
| Language: | English |
| Num Series: | 1 |
| Num Episodes: | 6 |
| Runtime: | 95–120 minutes |
| Company: | Princess Productions |
| Network: | Channel 4 |
Famous and Fearless is a reality game show series in which 8 celebrities compete in extreme sporting events to win money for their respective chosen charity. It aired in January 2011 on Channel 4 and was presented by Chris Evans and Clare Balding with Jack Osbourne appearing alongside them as a guest in most shows.[1] The commentator of the events was Nick Fellows. The winner was Charley Boorman. The live part of Famous and Fearless was broadcast from the Liverpool Echo Arena, where all the Head-to-Heads and other events happened before an arena audience.
Eight celebrities competed, split into two divisions – boys and girls. On 7 January 2011, Charley Boorman won the boys' group and Kelly Holmes won the girls, with the former becoming the overall champion.
| Celebrity | Known for |
|---|---|
| Charley Boorman | Actor and TV adventurer, presenter of By Any Means, Race to Dakar, Long Way Round and Long Way Down |
| Jenny Frost | Singer, former member of Atomic Kitten and presenter of Snog Marry Avoid?, former I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! contestant |
| Jonah Lomu | Former rugby union footballer for the All Blacks from New Zealand |
| Kacey Ainsworth | Actress, played Little Mo Slater in EastEnders |
| Dame Kelly Holmes | Olympic gold medallist |
| Rufus Hound | Comedian and TV personality, winner of Let's Dance for Sport Relief |
| Sam Branson | Son of entrepreneur and Virgin Group owner Richard Branson |
| Sarah Jayne Dunn | Actress, played Mandy Richardson in Hollyoaks |
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5
Day 6 (Finale)
Charley Boorman beat Dame Kelly Holmes in Demolition Derby to become the eventual winner of Famous And Fearless.
Famous and Fearless received mostly negative reviews from British media outlets. Stuart Heritage of The Guardian stated that the contestants were not celebrities and the events were not extreme. He went on to say Celebrity Big Brother's successor may have been more successful if it had been 'a mindless Saturday evening ITV show.'.[2] The Independent claimed the show was too noisy and mislead viewers with its title, suggesting 'Vaguely Recognisable and Game for a Laugh' or 'Who's That and Why Is That Dangerous?' as more fitting titles.[3]
| Episode | Date | Rating (Millions) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Episode 1 | 2 January 2011 | 2.27[4] | |
| Episode 2 | 3 January 2011 | 1.73[5] | |
| Episode 3 | 4 January 2011 | 1.63[6] | |
| Episode 4 | 5 January 2011 | 1.70 | |
| Episode 5 | 6 January 2011 | 1.30[7] | |
| Episode 6 | 7 January 2011 | 1.44[8] |
In February 2011, it was reported that the series had been axed after one series due to poor ratings.[9]