Former BBC Breakfast presenter Louise Minchin has been discharged from hospital after receiving treatment for frostbite sustained during a charity cycling challenge in Canada. The 57-year-old was airlifted back to the UK after falling ill while participating in the Inuvik Weekend Warrior Fat Bike Challenge in the Northwest Territories.
Minchin and endurance athlete Mimi Anderson had aimed to cycle 300 miles across the Arctic wilderness in three days to raise funds for the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme. However, they abandoned the attempt after covering approximately 87 miles when temperatures dropped to -40C and dangerous winds set in. Both women developed frostbite and required medical attention.
In a social media post on Good Friday, Minchin expressed gratitude to medical staff in both Canada and the UK who cared for her over the past two weeks. She wrote: "I am out of hospital in time for Easter thank goodness! Thanks to all of you for your messages. Profound thanks to all the doctors, nurses and staff who have looked after me over the last two weeks both here in the UK and in Canada."
Earlier, from her hospital bed, Minchin had shared a video showing her and Anderson with bandaged fingers, explaining: "We did around 140k in temperatures as low as -40 degrees. When we got to this point, both of us knew we were very dangerously cold. The combination of the temperature and wind meant despite having prepared as much as we could have it was a huge risk to go on."
Frostbite can develop in as little as ten minutes in wind chills of -36C, causing pain, numbness, and in severe cases, necrosis. Minchin's celebrity colleagues, including Michelle Ackerley and Helen Skelton, sent messages of support. Minchin is now recovering at home with her dog Ruby.
