The original version of Alone, a survivalist show with a large cash prize, is, of course, American. In it, a dozen or so contestants are dropped into a bear-studded and in various other ways inhospitable environment (usually the Alaskan or Canadian wilderness) and left to see who lasts longest alone (the clue is in the title).
The show is into its 10th season now. People who have spent their entire lives outdoors because they are American (and most of America, whatever their television exports tell us, is outdoors), hunt, fish, forage, build three-storey shelters with working lifts and south-facing balconies, make their own boats and in at least one case a ukulele and a football game to pass the time. The Australian version gave the US one a run for its money when it fielded a woman who had gained 19kg in preparation (contestants tend to lose at least that if they last any length of time and are often pulled out at the brink of starvation by the programme makers) before being dropped off in the Tasmanian nowhere wearing the possum-skin coat/sleeping bag she had made for herself. But now it is Britain’s turn, though the wilderness is Canadian.
