Louise Minchin has provided an update following her emergency hospitalisation. The former BBC Breakfast presenter, 57, fell ill while in Canada during a fundraising expedition and had to be flown back to the UK to recuperate. The former I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here! star had set out on a mission alongside endurance athlete Mimi Anderson, hoping to cycle 300 miles in 3 days through Canada's Northwestern Territories.

The duo had chosen to raise money for the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme, but Louise and Mimi had reached approximately 87 miles when disaster struck, forcing them to abandon the challenge. Having battled treacherous winds and temperatures plummeting as low as -40C, they realised something was seriously wrong and that they required urgent medical attention.

On Good Friday, the presenter took to social media to inform fans that she had been discharged just in time for Easter, expressing her gratitude to the medical staff who had cared for her over the previous fortnight.

She wrote on Instagram: "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. I am incredibly grateful for the care you have all given me" The TV star, who has also presented ITV Daytime's Lorraine on occasion, shared the message alongside her pet dog and added: "Ruby is very happy to be keeping me company in the spring sunshine."

Numerous celebrity friends and co-stars of Louise's flooded the comments section of her post to offer their well-wishes. Michelle Acklerley commented: "So good to hear you're home. Hope you have a restful Easter," while Helen Skelton, both recognised for presenting Morning Live, added: "Sending love superwoman!"

Addressing her Instagram followers from her hospital bed on Friday, Louise revealed: "We are out of the race, but we are safe, warm and being well looked after."

After 14 hours, they had no option but to withdraw from the Inuvik Weekend Warrior Fat Bike Challenge, which sees participants cycle across the Arctic wilderness and frozen rivers. The challenge is described as taking cyclists "through some of the coldest, toughest and most beautiful terrain."

Louise explained: "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.

"Turns out we were right to stop. We both have frostbite and are being looked after incredibly well looked after. At the moment we remain in good spirits." The video Louise shared depicted her and Mimi with their fingers wrapped in blue bandages as they sat together in hospital. Frostbite can develop in as little as 10 minutes when the wind chill plunges to as low as -36C, which were precisely the conditions Mimi and Louise endured while cycling through the Northwest Territories.

The condition can initially trigger pain and numbness, but if left untreated and exposed, it can progress to frozen skin, swelling, blood-filled blisters and a complete loss of sensation. In the most severe cases, necrosis can set in, whereby the skin turns black as the tissue begins to die.