Paddy McGuinness had therapy to face fear of flying to film Top Gear

Paddy McGuinness has revealed he underwent therapy in order to combat his fear of flying and land his Top Gear presenting job.

The Take Me Out host took over presenting the BBC car show last year as part of a new hosting line-up along with Freddie Flintoff and Chris Harris - but had to battle his aviophobia in order to travel as the show is filmed around the world.

Read more: Paddy McGuinness didn’t know he was bad driver until Top Gear

McGuinness, 46, told Metro.co.uk at at the Top Gear season 28 premiere in London: “For myself personally, I wasn’t very well travelled - been to Portugal once. So when I got the gig I went to The Priory and saw a doctor to get me over my fear of flying and all that. I’ve seen parts of the world I’d never normally see and it’s just been amazing.”

The comedian also revealed that Top Gear producers do not reveal what stunts the presenters will be taking on until they arrive on location - to prevent them backing out.

McGuinness said: “They don’t give you the option. If they told you beforehand, ‘You’re going to drive this road and it’s really high up and windy,’ you might say, ‘Oh I don’t fancy that.’

“But you just come to it in a car, so you can’t do anything else. You have got to drive it. When you are there you are that in it, you just do it.”

For the Top Gear Christmas special, McGuinness travelled to Nepal and the new series will see them film in Mexico, Switzerland and Bognor Regis.

Read more: 'Top Gear' paints rainbow flag on cars used for Brunei filming

McGuinness previously admitted to Yahoo UK that he took his own food with him when went to Nepal because he is so unused to travelling.

He said: “No word of a lie, they have to take a little box just for me and it’s got like little pots of spaghetti hoops, flumps, Angel Delight it’s like a six-year-old’s tea party.”