Shane Lynch left his cast mates in tears when he suddenly quit BBC’s Pilgrimage: The Road Through Portugal.
The three-part series follows seven well-known personalities, with differing faiths and beliefs, as they take on a modern-day Catholic pilgrimage in Portugal.
Known as the Northern Way, their destination is the famous sanctuary in the city of Fatima, one of the biggest Catholic pilgrimage destinations in the world.
Living as pilgrims, they begin their adventure in the border town of Valenca and over 14 days the celebrity pilgrims follow the 364-kilometre path as it winds its way south through stunning landscapes, passing places of historical and cultural interest.
Shane took part in the series, which airs on BBC Two tonight, alongside Vicky Pattison, Su Pollard, Rita Simons, Bobby Seagull, Nabil Abdulrashid, and Millie Knight.
But after reaching their destination, the singer decided to leave ahead of a candlelit procession.
In the episode, Shane’s cast mates were shocked as Vicky received a voice note from him explaining that he was “heading home”.
Shane said: “This journey has been so incredible, I have loved every minute of it and thank you guys for being a part of that.
“I have come to the end of my journey and I am very complete and satisfied with what I have done.”
The cast were visibly emotional over his exit, and Vicky confessed she was “really upset” over his departure.
Millie, who is a well-known Paralympic skier, tearfully admitted: “Hearing Shane leave was quite tough. He was a really vital character in our group.”
“I’ve never met anyone as genuine, generous, caring and observant as Shane and because he was so important in our group it would have meant the world that we all made it to the sanctuary all together because we have been on this journey all together.”
Shane previously revealed his exit from the show was sparked by his phobia of candles.
The 46-year-old said: “I have a candle phobia. One of the things is you would never get me into that place with 100,000 candles, that is like death to me.”
“So rather than saying, ‘listen lads, I’ve got a candle phobia and that sounds ridiculous’, it was easier for me to accept my journey had come to an end and go ‘I got what I wanted from it’, rather than putting myself through a really bad experience at the end.”
Shane admitted he’s had a phobia of candles for “as long as I can remember”, and doesn’t allow them in his house.
“Anything with a small flame, lighters, matches, candles, nowhere near me or my house,” he said.
Shane also revealed his time on the show made him realise that he’s “had enough” of the showbiz industry.
