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My knowledge of Arctic Sweden comes mainly from Ray Mears and Ikea, but I bet that between those two, I’ll be pretty well prepared,” Dom said as he checked into the Icehotel. Confidence before a fall, dear Dom.

No doubt spurred by the knowledge that the temperature in Kiruna was -10C, you voted overwhelmingly to send Dom reindeer-herding. So, after a night at the Icehotel (we wanted to give him the chance to acclimatise), he went native with the Sami people, who eke out a nomadic living based on moving their deer through the knee-knocking wastes 120 miles north of the Arctic Circle.

The reindeer herdsman is a resourceful chap: he needs to be milker, butcher, skinner and musher. He also needs to be pretty handy with a lasso. Miraculously, Dom was: “Got one, I bloody got one. I can’t bloody believe I lassoed a reindeer.” You can sense the excitement, can’t you? Having established from his Sami guide that there is no national dance in Lapland (“So, no Lap dances, then?”), and that the Sami haven’t assimilated any dances from neighbouring cultures (“So, no Pole dances, then?”), it was time for Dom to try his hand at reindeer-mushing.

For your information, reindeer used for transport have their testicles cut off to make them less aggressive. But Dom’s castrated Rudolph was still pretty nifty. Or as Dom put it: “Amazing. Totally cool. He really whips round. Thank God he doesn’t have balls.” Later that day, it was time to light a fire, gather around for warmth and eat what any self-respecting reindeer-herder eats - reindeer.

Because, of course, mangetout and broccoli don’t grow very easily in the midst of an Arctic winter. “Mmmm, that’s really tasty,” said our intrepid adventurer, before checking - “This isn’t the one I’ve just ridden, is it? I don’t think I’ll mention this to the kids... they’re fans of Donner and Blitzen.”

FOLLOWING DOM

To follow in Dom’s reindeer tracks, you need to get yourself to Kiruna, in the far north of Sweden. It’s home - from early December to the end of April anyway - to the superchic Icehotel (00 46 980 66 800, www.icehotel.com).

You wouldn’t rush here in summer, but it’s a magnet for winter adventure enthusiasts - and romantics, too.

A short break here is best organised through a specialist tour operator. Dom travelled with Discover the World (0870 060 3288, www.discover-the-world.co.uk/icehotel), which offers a three-night break (one night in an ice room and two in a more conventional heated one) from £751pp, B&B, including transfers and flights from Heathrow to Kiruna, via Stockholm, with SAS (0870 60 727 727, www.flysas.com).

Once there, you can go reindeer sledging in the nearby Sami camp (£112pp), spend a day with a Sami reindeer-herder (from £146), or take a 90-minute husky-sled safari in the hands of a skilled musher (£104pp).

Other specialist operators include Robert Broad Travel (0845 003 2216, www.icehotels.co.uk) and Specialised Tours (01342 712785, www.specialisedtours.com).

Dom also stayed as a guest of the Hilton London Heathrow Airport (020 8759 7755, www.hilton.co.uk/heathrow), which has a Time to Fly package - a double room and up to 15 nights’ parking - from £186.

For more information on Swedish Lapland, call 020 7108 6168 or go to www.visitsweden.com

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