A Welsh couple became the first to be tracked down in this week's episode of Hunted as they were pursued on foot by the hunters through the scenic Brecon countryside in a tense chase.
The hit Channel 4 programme sees 11 ordinary people turn fugitive for 23 days as they try to win £100,000. A team of top 'hunters' – a mix of police and military – try to track down the fugitives and stop them winning any cash using all the tech and cunning they have.
This week saw two of the hunted, Swansea couple Meurig and Elinor, tracked down in the Brecon countryside. The pair had gone to Meurig's sister and brother-in-law's house near Brecon to try and evade the hunters but without much luck. Opening up with a stunning shot of the Brecon Beacons things immediately became tense as Elinor was caught on foot by one of the hunters while Meurig ran through the countryside to escape.
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Things back at HQ were tense as the hunters watched footage of Meurig being pursued by hunter JP on foot, losing him after he jumped over a gate to escape. The hunters decided to launch a drone to track Meurig's movements as he headed down a country lane.
The hunters were pursuing on foot at full speed as they tried to cut him off down the country lane with shouts of support coming from the other hunters back at HQ as they watched tense bodycam footage of the chase. Eventuall, Meurig was "hunted down" as he ran through a field.
The couple became the hunters' first capture and said they were "fuming" that this was the case. "We didn't want to be first. Well, it wasn't day one," Elinor said as they spoke to HQ.
"My advice to you two is, your beauty and looks, you need a bit more than that in the future, yeah?" one of the hunters, Lisa Theaker, assistant chief constable for Cleveland Police, joked. "Sweet as a nut to watch that, they had nowhere to go," she later said.
"I'm just gutted for us, I really wanted us to get to the end," Elinor said. "I stand by everything we did because at the time you don't know what's a good decision, you don't know what's a bad decision."
Some viewers were not too impressed with the couple's attempts to evade the hunters, however. One Twitter user, @Kirsten93_ wrote: "Anyone who goes to their family/friends house in the first couple of days honestly deserves to be caught." Twitter user @laurabarr39 was in agreement, writing: "They deserved to get caught #hunted."
"There should be a £10k fine if you get caught on the first two episodes of #Hunted on @Channel4," another Twitter user, @announcerphil wrote.
"I do feel really disappointed. Being on the road with Elinor, it's made us closer. It's that shared experience and I'm really proud to say that I've done it with Elinor," Meurig added. Hunted returns on Channel 4 next Sunday at 9pm and is also available on streaming platform All4.
