TELLY show Pilgrimage has had some random signings, but now it has bagged its most unusual name yet – Superman star Tom Welling.
The American actor played the young superhero in Noughties drama Smallville, as well as Charlie Baker in the two Cheaper By The Dozen films in 2003 and 2005.
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Tom, now 48, has previously talked about being a Christian so he’ll be a welcome addition to the other celebs appearing in the BBC Two show, which has been running for eight years.
It takes a group of seven stars on a walk, during which they exchange thoughts on their faith and differing world views.
A TV insider said: “Tom and the other celebrities were spotted in a local restaurant stopping off for a drink and a bite to eat.
“The other diners couldn’t believe it.
“It’s not every day you see anyone famous in your local eatery, let alone an American TV and movie star — and someone who played Superman, too.
“Tom was surrounded by all the other famous faces too, which must have surprised everyone who was there — although it didn’t take long before fans were asking for pictures.”
Last week I exclusively revealed how ex-Love Island and Strictly Come Dancing contestant Tasha Ghouri was joining the Pilgrimage line-up, as well as Diversity frontman Ashley Banjo.
Together with Tom, it looks like it will be the show’s most interesting line-up yet, with the new series airing next year.
The A-listers have probably been paid for with the money the BBC has saved taking them all abroad this year.
This is the first time the show has been staged in England, and the stars will be travelling through Northumberland — where Christianity first spread across the country — stopping off at the holy island of Lindisfarne.
After the sunny hills of Hollywood, I’m sure Tom will need some superhuman skills to adapt to blustery Blighty.
CLARE’S 11 WORST CELEBS
CLARE BALDING has revealed she keeps a secret list of sports stars she doesn’t like – which she calls “The Ws Eleven”.
The TV host has interviewed many famous faces from the worlds of tennis, horse racing, rugby and the Olympics, noting who behaves badly.
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She revealed: “I keep a list and the list’s name is The Ws Eleven.
“Some people go to the bench as subs if they suddenly are nicer than I thought they were going to be, then some new ones appear.”
Clare, who will be appearing on The Celebrity Traitors, told fans at a literary festival to promote her new novel Pastures New: “Sometimes people are rude because they are very nervous or because they are upset at something that has just happened.
“The difficult ones are the ones who know they should talk and they just don’t.”
GARY’S BUZZING FOR BOX
ITV has revealed ten celebs who will appear on the first series of Gary Lineker’s new show The Box.
The former Match Of The Day host is about to present the contest, which sounds like one of the most challenging on telly.
The stars taking part will be Graeme Souness, Sara Davies, Ellie Taylor, Joey Essex , JB Gill, John Bercow, Shakira Khan, Danny Aarons, Jenny Ryan and Ranvir Singh.
Each celeb is put in a yellow box and must face a challenge in a mystery location when they get out.
Gary said: “The most successful teams are built on a mix of strengths and abilities. That’s exactly what we’ve got with this line-up.
“I’m excited to see the action unfold.”
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THE Weakest Link is returning next month, and will once again see Romesh Ranganathan in the chair as quizmaster.
But the new series will kick off with a Radio 2 special, which means that the contestants will be some very familiar faces.
They include Radio 2 stars, past and present, such as Scott Mills, Zoe Ball, Tony Blackburn, Jo Whiley and Trevor Nelson.
Which might be a tad awkward for Romesh – who’ll have to send 14 of the 15 contestants home – as he’s also one of their colleagues.
At least the winner on the show, which airs on October 4, will bag a juicy jackpot of £50,000 for their chosen charity.
