Alone is the first UK version of this popular survival show and it’s heading to Channel 4.
The six-part series sees 11 Brits, aged between 18 and 58 and from various walks of life, dropped into the remote northern Canadian wilderness, where they must survive alone with only a handful of basic tools. They also have equipment on which to film their experience, plus a satellite phone so they can "tap out" and be rescued when they’ve had enough.
Here's everything we know...
Alone release date
Alone will start on Channel 4 on Sunday 6 August at 9 pm, and the box set will be available on Channel 4's streaming service.
Who are the contestants?
Alan, 43, Forestry Manager
Father of two Alan runs two businesses with his wife — selling ethically sourced meat and teaching outdoor skills to other families. He is devoted to his wife and children and places strong importance on family.
He finds solace in the outdoors and has routinely spent multiple days at a time isolated in the wilderness.
Alan is autistic. He says that he is highly verbal but lacks a sense of social propriety and has a poor short-term memory. He’ll often sing loudly to himself.
Aside from the outdoors, Alan enjoys cooking and writing. He’s also been known to debate politics rather passionately.
Elise, 32, Travel PR Exec
After reading about female explorers, Elise was inspired to start the "Women with Altitude" project, where she goes on expeditions, following in the footsteps of history’s forgotten adventurers.
Eva, 24, NHS Project Manager
Inspired by her dad's love of the outdoors, 24-year-old Eva is determined and fiercely independent (although in a committed, long-term relationship) — a confident hiker with basic bush-crafting skills, she is out to prove that young women can be confident alone in the wild.
She currently works as a project manager for a mental health trust in the NHS.
Outside of work she is an outdoor obsessive and loves spending her free time rock climbing, hiking and wild camping. The outdoors is her happy place and going on a solo hike or camping trip is her favorite way to deal with stress or difficult moments in her life.
Javed, 58, Retired Life Coach
Organised and methodical, Javed worked as a therapist throughout his adult career and though now semi-retired, has always loved and continues to love helping people, now regularly raising money for mountain rescue through his sporting and mountaineering pursuits.
Javed considers himself to be a high achiever; ambitious with a curious nature, to the point where he even built his own house from scratch throughout lockdown as the next challenge.
Despite being nearly 60, Javed remains extremely motivated and surprises even himself at his inability to relax. He can barely keep still and is always "chomping at the bit" for his next adventure.
Kian, 18, Student
Kian lives with his mum, dad, gran and two younger brothers.
He is currently at university where he’s subject is War Studies. His real passion, though, is the wilderness. He’s read multiple books and attended several courses. He's usually the youngest on the course by about 20 years!
He’s also highly skilled at judo – he won gold at the London Youth Games in 2019.
He is a real optimist and believes that hope and positivity can drive you through any obstacle.
Laura, 39, Entrepreneur
Laura went through a massive transformation as she reached her 30s, discovering the outdoors, fitness and adventure. Since then, she has taken on several survival and endurance events, including surviving alone on a desert island and rowing the Atlantic.
Laura has shared her love of the outdoors with her parents who now also take on adventures and endurance events.
Laura makes a living producing YouTube videos where she takes on challenges and shows herself getting through them.
Louie, 28, Builder
Louie is a builder. His job means he is constantly on his feet which helps him to keeps fit.
He loves wild swimming, camping and mountain climbing.
His dream is to be dropped somewhere with just an axe, so that he can live in nature and construct his own shelter.
He’s been alone by himself in the forest for up to two weeks and loves nothing more than to sit by a fire he’s built.
Mike, 49, Joiner
Master craftsman Mike can build pretty much anything out of wood, whether that’s a house, furniture or anything in between.
He’s a real "salt of the earth" bloke and lives on the street he grew up on (with a lot of travelling in between). He spends a lot of time with his partner and daughter and has a mantra of "work to live".
No one has a bad word to say about him. He's always laughing and describes himself as a kid locked in a grown-up's body. He loves adventure and holidaying.
His biggest achievement is his daughter. He thinks she’s clever, warm-hearted, and that she’s "turned out well’"
Naomi, 26, Clothing Designer
Naomi has her own outdoor clothing range and manages a fashion school in Chelsea but fell in love with the outdoors during her research into creating clothing suitable for extreme environments. As part of her research into what makes a successful outdoor clothing brand, she is often found trekking in extreme weather conditions and taking on challenging expeditions
Naomi has a three-year-old son who will celebrate his fourth birthday while she is away in Canada.
Naomi has also worked as a freelance survival expert and equipment specialist at Bear Grylls Survival Academy and she LOVES challenging the stereotype of being a fashion designer who is just as at home in the wild.
Naomi describes herself as an extrovert who is incredibly social and loves leading a busy life, whilst this is her day-to-day, she loves spending time in the wilderness alone to reset and challenge herself.
Pip, 47, Wild Swim Guide
Pip is a wild swimming guide, a bushcraft instructor and a mother of two.
She’s spent time helping people with learning disabilities through outdoor bushcraft and recently began setting up her own kindergarten.
While Pip says motherhood is a daily challenge, she also takes part in some rigorous competitions. She’s swam the Channel, done massive runs and been on daunting bike rides.
She loves that she can balance her outdoor pursuits with keeping a feminine side to herself. She’s keen to show people that you don’t need to choose one or the other!
Tom, 39, Travel Company Director
Tom runs a travel company which offers tailor made desert island experiences where customers can pretend they’ve been washed up Robinson Crusoe-style and have to fend for themselves. This means he works with some of the best people in the survival business and has built up a decent number of skills himself.
His business is doing well, he has a wife and a young child and enjoys the finer things in life.
While he presents as a determined and confident guy. He says this is something he has built up over the years, as he has struggled to overcome different adversities.
