Hermione Norris Opens Up on the Tragic Reason for Joining Pilgrimage
hermione norris says the timing of Pilgrimage felt right after a personal loss and a major family transition, as she joined seven well-known personalities on a 12-day journey across North East England. The actress said the experience gave her space to think deeply about faith, identity, and the life changes unfolding around her. The series follows the group across a 390km route to Holy Island of Lindisfarne.
The journey begins with loss and change
hermione norris said her mother died about 18 months before she took part, and that her children were leaving home at the same time. She described the moment as a “perfect” one for a pilgrimage, saying the trip appealed to her because it arrived during a period of transition. The journey brought together people of different faiths and beliefs, with the group walking through wild landscapes and visiting places tied to early Celtic Christian saints.
The route in Pilgrimage takes the celebrity pilgrims across significant landmarks including Whitby Abbey and Durham Cathedral before they reach Holy Island of Lindisfarne. The series runs across three 60-minute episodes and is part of Two and iPlayer’s annual Easter Pilgrimage. In her remarks, hermione norris said she wanted the chance to ask herself deeper questions and to reflect on faith without religious dogma.
Hermione Norris on faith, work, and not feeling she “made it”
Hermione Norris said she was raised culturally as a Christian and believes she has “a very strong faith, ” while also saying she is not religious and does not subscribe to religious dogma. She said the experience gave her a chance to explore that side of herself with care and honesty. She also said she came away grateful for what she believes in and more willing to speak openly about it.
In the same interview, hermione norris said she has never felt she had “made it” in the acting industry, even after a career that includes Cold Feet, Spooks, A Mother’s Son, Wire in the Blood and Luther. She said getting into drama school was the dream come true, but success never felt like a finish line. Her comments place the pilgrimage in a wider personal context: grief, family change, and a reassessment of a long career.
What the pilgrimage group brings to the screen
The series also features Ashley Banjo, Tasha Ghouri, Hasan Al-Habib, Jayne Middlemiss, Ashley Blaker and Patsy Kensit. The group includes a practising Christian, an atheist, an observant Muslim, a spiritual radio presenter, a former ultra-Orthodox Jew now non-practising, and a self-described “à la carte” Catholic. That mix is central to the format, which uses walking and conversation to test ideas and compare different world views.
Hermione Norris said she expected more challenge from the journey than she actually found, but instead discovered a group that “gelled really well. ” She said she had expected some friction around belief, but found the conversations respectful and constructive. That, she said, made the experience feel like a learning curve rather than a confrontation.
What happens next for Pilgrimage
Pilgrimage airs on Sunday 5 April at 9pm on Two and iPlayer, with the Holy Island route set to continue through the final destination at Lindisfarne. For hermione norris, the wider value of the journey appears to be personal as much as spiritual: a chance to pause, reflect, and speak more openly about what she believes. As the series unfolds, hermione norris looks set to remain at the center of its emotional pull.
