EastEnders’ Tamzin Outhwaite feared for her life during BBC’s Freeze The Fear stint: ‘My main fear was am I going to have a heart attack’

EastEnders star admitted she feared for her life during her time on BBC’s latest survival series

Across the six-parter, the celebrities will be living together in a tented village surrounded by snow, and be testing themselves – both physically and mentally – with challenges like walking barefoot in the snow and freezing showers.

One of the spine-chilling tasks involves the stars jumping feet-first in a frozen lake, and Tazmin revealed the challenge ‘triggered’ a painful memory of how her mum, Anna Santis, died ‘of a very sudden heart attack’ in 2018 aged 67.

‘In my head, jumping into ice-cold water could trigger something like that,’ she told The .

‘My main fear was, “am I going to have a heart attack when I hit the water?”

The 51-year-old actress said she felt her late mother’s presence every step of the way, and felt safe among her Freeze The Fear co-stars.

The first episode dropped last Tuesday (April 12) and viewers saw Tazmin, Alfie Boe, Chelcee Grimes, Owain Wyn Evans, , Patrice Evra, Gabby Logan, and Professor Green receiving guidance from The Iceman’s Wim Hof.

Although presenters Lee Mack and  oversee their every move, the Dutch motivational speaker – who is best known for his ability to withstand icy conditions – is the one pushing the recruits to their limits.

During the series debut, after his first wife Marivelle-Maria died by suicide in 1995, but soon learned how to control his emotions.

‘If you are able, wilfully, to go out of comfort, you get real power – that’s real comfort,’ he began.

‘I needed that when I lost my wife 27 years ago. At two o’clock in the morning, she kissed her kids goodbye before she jumped from eight stories down. What kind of mental state is that?

‘This was a beautiful woman and suddenly this darkness came in, and guys, I was left devastated, heartbroken. I always did jumps everywhere, the crazy most extreme. I’d climb without gear.

‘My life was completely paralysed. I was in fear inside me.’

Freeze The Fear With Wim Hof airs Tuesdays at 9pm on BBC One.