Channel 4 & Ross Edgley’s Icelandic swim
Posted on: September 12th, 2025
Channel 4 braves the elements with ultra-athlete Ross Edgley in extreme Icelandic swim series
Ross Edgley holds the world record for swimming around the entire coast of Great Britain. Over the summer of 2025 the world’s leading extreme sports scientist and all-round aquatic hardman embarked on his most audacious challenge yet: swimming 1000 miles over 116 days in some of the most inhospitable waters on earth.
Told as an unfolding adventure, Ross Edgely: Fire and Ice (w/t) is a 3×60’ series from Big Wave TV that will chart the highs and lows of an epic journey to circumnavigate the island of Iceland. From hypothermia to salt water ‘tongue rot’, Ross swims 20km a day, braving the extremities of the icy Greenland Sea and the Arctic Circle, to the volcanic hotspots of the south coast. Along the way Ross reveals the secrets of what drives him to take on the seemingly impossible while the journey itself showcases the spectacular landscapes and extraordinary wildlife of this unique location
Ross Edgley says: “This has been the most extreme, brutal swim, I’ve ever undertaken. It’s taken me to the brink both physically and mentally. You’re essentially trying to survive in conditions that are constantly trying to kill you. But hurricanes and volcanoes aside, I’ve met the most amazing people whose country has the most incredibly history and heritage. For me, this wasn’t just a swim, but a journey through Icelandic folklore, all wrapped in sagas, mystery and mystique.”
Chris Hemsworth says: “Ross breaks the mould and redefines endurance sport and adventure. He’s what happens when tough and crazy collide. This isn’t just a swim, it was an epic saga that now takes its rightful place in Icelandic folklore.”
Bear Grylls says: “In achieving this, Ross has rewritten the limits of human potential. In terms of survival it’s hard to explain just how demanding and draining ice cold rough seas are on the body. It takes commitment and resilience to another level”.
Jonah Weston, commissioning editor at Channel 4 says: “Even by Ross Edgley’s standards of limit-pushing endurance, the Iceland swim is extraordinary and, in all likelihood, the toughest swim ever attempted by anyone. This series captures not just the bone-chilling physical challenges Ross faces but also the raw beauty and power of Iceland’s landscapes.”
Sarah Cunliffe, executive producer for Big Wave TV says: “Brutal, awe-inspiring and heart-warming in equal measures, this is a story of the brilliance of dreaming the impossible, and then doing it.”
International distribution partner: Cineflex Rights
