Former Made In Chelsea star Spencer Matthews has revealed he didn’t know Jesus was real – despite attending one of the most prestigious schools in the country, and paying a hefty fee for his education.
The reality star, 35, went to Eton College – the same school as Boris Johnson, David Cameron and even Dominic West.
And though his parents coughed up nearly £50,000 a year on his education (with the latest fees statement revealing it costs a whopping £16,666 per term), it appears Spencer didn’t take home some basic religious studies.
In an upcoming episode of Pilgrimage: The Road To Wild Wales, the TV personality, who hosts the Big Fish podcast, said that Bible miracles sound ‘mad’, adding: ‘I kind of thought that the people in the (Bible) stories could also be made up.’
Spencer stars in the sixth series of the BBC Two show, and is joined by TV presenter Sonali Shah, comedian Eshaan Akbar, The Traitors’ Amanda Lovett, Friday Night Dinner star Tom Rosenthal and former model Christine McGuiness, as they traverse North Wales.
Speaking at a Q&A event for the forthcoming series, the dad-of-three addressed the moment he questioned Jesus’ existence on the show.
‘By the way, the Jesus being real thing, just to reference it,’ he said.
‘I think I’m a bit confused with Old Testament and New Testament – and parting of the seas and the turning water into wine all sounds mad to me, so I kind of thought that the people in the stories could also be made up.’
In the programme Matthews asks Akbar: ‘Jesus Christ definitely existed?
‘I thought he could have been made up… that’s not disputed, no?’
He also asks Akbar if the prophet Mohammed was Allah.
‘Mohammed is Allah, is he?’ he says.
‘He’s a prophet of God,’ Akbar responds.
During the Q&A, Spencer also discussed the death of his brother Michael and how he felt ‘accepted’ by the group after he opened up about it on the show.
His brother disappeared into blinding snow hours after becoming the youngest Briton to summit Mount Everest in May 1999, and Spencer explored his death in documentary Finding Michael.
Asked which moments from the pilgrimage he will treasure, Spencer said: ‘I felt like as a group, we experienced quite a few things, moments along the way.
‘I think eventually getting to see Bardsey Island was very beautiful and united us still, even though it was towards the end of the trip.
‘I think there was a time at the, what would you call it, the Eco retreat? Where we were kind of cold plunging and bits and bobs.
‘And later that evening, we came together for dinner, which Eshaan very kindly cooked, and spoke about forgiveness, which I think runs quite deeply throughout most religion.
‘And it kind of took me back to my time on Everest where I was able to let go of quite a lot of resentment that I was holding against people that I felt could have done a better job helping my brother that passed.
‘And it just felt a nice moment. I’m not the best emotionally and I felt very kind of welcomed and accepted in the group for sharing the story.
‘And I think that’s when things kind of turned for me, I began to be a bit more open to the spiritual experiences that we shared as a group and it was quite a meaningful time.’
Pilgrimage: The Road To Wild Wales starts on March 29 and will be available to watch on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer.
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