Dancing on Ice star Jason Gardiner has revealed that he took part in outdoor adventure show ‘Alone in the Wild’ to avoid a midlife crisis.

Jason, who turns 40 in November, said the experience – which saw him left alone in Belize with no help in getting food, shelter or water – was his way of dealing with the milestone birthday.

He said, “It seemed like a good idea because when will any of us get to have that experience?

“I know a lot of people are thinking ‘I can live without it’.

“I just thought, it’s turning 40 next year and I wanted to mark it some way and it was better than a midlife crisis, I thought, ‘Belize on the one hand or midlife crisis on the other’ …

“Or maybe that was my midlife crisis.

“It was very life-defining for me and made me appreciate how good things are in my life.”

But although he was grateful for the experience, Jason admits he found it “incredibly scary”.

He exclusively told BANG Showbiz, “It was incredibly scary, especially at night.

“You’re engulfed in total blackness from 7 until 5,30am, you can’t see anything and you have things crawling all over you all night long.”

‘Alone in the Wild’ – which also features Andrew ‘Freddie’ Flintoff, mountaineer Aron Ralston, investigative reporter Donal MacIntyre, former SAS trooper Chris Ryan and sportswomen Amy Williams and Tanya Streeter – airs weekly on Discovery Channel from 5 October.