Channel 4’s wild new survival show has already been called “the most extreme competition on TV”.
Beginning on Sunday (6 August), Alone is a six-part series which sees 11 members of the public put to the ultimate survival challenge.
The competition, which is already a successful format in the US and Scandinavia, follows a group of competitors as they are individually dropped on their own in the remote wilderness of north-west Canada.
Among the contestants, who are aged 19 to 58 and are not experienced survivalists, each person must fend for themselves and survive for as long as possible.
The competitors are equipped with only a handful of basic tools and must battle the elements, loneliness and starvation, under the constant threat of predators including bears and wolves.
Crucially, they also will not be accompanied by any camera crew members or producers, and must film their own progression during the trip. The last person standing will win a £100,000 prize.
The series description reads: “The series is not only a bare-knuckle survival challenge, but also gives an insight into the human spirit against all the odds.”
Competitor Javed films himself— (Channel 4)
You can find out more about the contestants below.
Alan
Aged 43, Alan is a forestry manager from Birmingham. Alan is autistic and describes himself as a keen forager who finds solace in the outdoors.
Discussing the challenge, he said: “The only thing I’m worried about out there is procuring food. I’m not worried about the mental [challenge] at all, maybe I should be.”
Elise
A PR executive from London, 32-year-old Elise has a fascination with historical female explorers which has led her to tackle expeditions that follow in their footsteps.
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“The competition for me is definitely with myself, because I don’t want to be in competition with the landscape and with nature,” Elise said. “I want to be fully immersed in it, and I want to try and thrive and not just survive in it.”
Eva
Celebrating her 25th birthday while filming alone, Eva is an NHS project manager from Leeds. She is fiercely independent and admits the outdoors is her happy place, with outdoor pursuits her chosen way to deal with stress or difficulties in her life.
She called Alone “the maddest thing I’ve ever done”, saying: “For me the exciting element is relying only on myself for absolutely everything and seeing how far my own resilience and my own skill set take me.”
Javed
A business coach and mentor from Ripon, Javed, 58, only discovered his passion for outdoor adventure in adulthood. Having grown up in a family who rarely had the opportunity to spend time outdoors, he now uses his love for extreme sports to coach and mentors individuals from a variety of backgrounds.
He said: “I am very happy in my own company a lot of the time but being alone for an hour is quite different to being alone for weeks. That’s part of the attraction of this kind of journey and this kind of experience.”
Contestant Tom— (Channel 4)
Kian
At 19, Kian is the youngest person taking part in Alone. A War Studies student and self-confessed survival nerd, he has a huge passion for the wilderness and hopes to become an expert in the future.
“I cannot describe how huge and how crazy this challenge is. I could go 30 years on this planet and this would be the most interesting and most amazing thing I ever do and I’m having to grapple with that now at the age of 19,” he said. “It’s very, very exciting and very, very scary.”
Laura
Before she turned 30, entrepreneur Laura was living a lavish lifestyle. However, the 40-year-old from Lincolnshire gave it all up in favour of the outdoors, fitness and adventure, and has even rowed the Atlantic.
She said: “I’m desperate to get out and connect with nature, and be away from the noise of digital and other people and to go really, really deep and see what I’m capable of.”
Louie
A 28-year-old builder from Wallasey, Louie’s motivation to complete this challenge comes from a lifelong desire to take on this ultimate test.
Louie said that Alone will “test every ounce of grit, determination, intelligence, and common sense”, adding: “This is the ultimate challenge for anyone, and I just hope I’m ready for it.”
Mike
Following a struggle with drug addiction in the Eighties, Mike, 49, turned his life around. Now, he works as a joiner and master craftsman in Manchester, and is a self-taught bushcraft expert and lover of all adventures involving nature.
Discussing the show, Mike said: “I think the time alone will be a good thing, just to evaluate life… When I think about the challenge, mostly I feel excited, a little bit nervous, a little bit anxious. But the overall feeling is excitement.”
Naomi
Raised in coastal Wales before moving to London to work as a clothing designer from London, 26-year-old mum Naomi has a love for the outdoors and a passion for bushcraft she hopes to share with her family.
Naomi said that the challenge would be “huge” for her, explaining: “I am always with people… to be completely on my own is not something I’m used to. It will be really interesting to see how I do, just completely alone. I’m terrified about being on my own.”
Pip
A wild swimming coach from Aberdeenshire, Scotland, 47-year-old Pip served 17 years as an army officer and became the first female army commando. She now dedicates her life to supporting others through outdoor-based activities and experiences.
Pip is going into the challenge with an “open mind”, saying: “I have a baseline of skills that will sustain me but I’m keen to explore them and develop them in any way possible… Hopefully my resilience levels will help me keep going.”
Tom
Tom, 39, is a company director from Portsmouth. He says his love for exploration and adventure has helped him to overcome confidence issues stemming from difficult experiences at school.
He said: “I’m not really in it for the prize money. It’s proving to myself that I do have the resilience that I think I perhaps do. I’ve a lot to prove to my family.”
Alone begins Sunday 6 August at 9pm on Channel 4.
