Rhod Gilbert to tackle Patagonia

Rhod Gilbert is to trek Argentina for charity.

The comic is following in the footsteps of the Welsh settlers who colonised Patagonia, on the South American country's southern tip, from 1865, in aid of the Velindre Cancer Centre.

Joining him on the journey will be his wife Sian, comics Barry Castagnola and Clint Edwards, former Welsh rugby star Shane Williams and The Manic Street Preachers' James Dean Bradfield and Sean Moore.

In total, a 50-strong group will embark on the gruelling six-day challenge in November.

The Never Mind The Buzzcocks host will also chair three panel show 'mash-ups' this summer to pay for the trip.

Guests currently booked to take part in the All You Can Eat Panel Show Buffet at the Aberdare Coliseum on June 30 and July 1, and at the Treorchy Park & Dare Theatre on July 2, include Phill Jupitus, Jon Richardson, Nick Helm, Susan Calman, Roisin Conaty, Angela Barnes, Lloyd Langford, Elis James, Rob Deering, Bobby Mair and Chris Corcoran.

Gilbert told Chortle that he would be borrowing elements from various panel shows, 'with rounds on music, general knowledge, sport and other stuff … requiring such verbal, mental and physical dexterity as never witnessed on stage before, or certainly not in Aberdare and Treorchy.

'Come along with too small a mind and it will get blown. It'll all be mixed up in an amorphous mass of panel show nonsense.'

Despite claiming to have barely exercised in the last 20 years, the comic climbed Africa's highest mountain, Kilimanjaro, with Castagnola and Edwards for Velindre in 2013.

He admitted that while he 'loved the challenge … it doesn't come naturally, and I still struggle to get off the sofa and do any training; I am to exercise what a slinky is to the London Marathon.

'I successfully led the Kilimanjaro trek from the back and I think I can do that again. I was last into camp every day, and last in our group to get to the top. That's brave leadership.'

Despite taking no camera crew to document the experience of altitude sickness, exhaustion, blizzards and 'men washing their goolies with wet wipes in a tent' on Kilimanjaro, they subsequently compiled footage from Castagnola's camcorder and phone to make a documentary for BBC One Wales, which aired last year.

But they will not be filming in Argentina because 'this time we want to fall down toilets in peace'.

Gilbert added: 'I've been a proud patron of Velindre for just over a year, and as someone who has been fascinated by our Patagonia heritage, this trek has enormous appeal; it's a great chance to raise funds for a cause that means a Lot to me, and also a rare opportunity to walk in the footsteps of our ancestors exactly one hundred and fifty years on.

'The route takes in some amazing scenery with icefalls, lakes and views of the Andes, but we also face a tough six-day trek, carrying our own kit, camping and walking up to 22 hours a day; but this is nothing compared to the challenges that cancer patients face each day, so I hope people will dig deep and help support Velindre.'

Welsh immigrants began colonising the Americas in the early 1800s amid fears that their cultural identity was being absorbed into England.

Unfortunately, early settlers to Patagonia found the land barren, inhospitable and unlike the fertile lowlands of Wales they'd been led to expect. But the Welsh language survives there to this day.

Tickets for the live panel shows are on sale now from 08000 147 111. Donations to the Patagonia trek can be made here

- by Jay Richardson

Published: 19 May 2015