Eleven people take on the ultimate test of survival Alone in Canadian wilderness

28 July 2023

This August (TX: Sundays at 9pm from 6 August on Channel 4), eleven ordinary people face the ultimate test of survival.  Dropped, completely ALONE, in the remote wilderness of north-west Canada, each of them have challenged themselves to take part in the most pure and extreme competition on TV - Alone. Each person must fend for themselves and survive for as long as possible, equipped with only a handful of basic tools, whilst filming their own adventure. The rules are simple but uncompromising: the last person standing wins £100,000. 

 

Aged from 19 to 58 years old, these competitors are not die-hard survivalists; they are ordinary people seeking an extraordinary challenge, whose lives have brought them to this moment for different reasons. Their stories unfold as their time in the wilderness reveals their truest selves. The series is not only a bare-knuckle survival challenge, but also gives an insight into the human spirit against all the odds.

 

Taking part in Alone - TV’s most extreme and uncompromising survival experiment - are Alan (43), Forestry Manager and father of two from Birmingham who is autistic, a keen forager and finds solace in the outdoors; Elise (32), PR Executive from London, whose fascination with historical female explorers has led her to tackle expeditions that follow in their footsteps; Eva (24 (turned 25 during filming)), an NHS Project Manager from Leeds, who is fiercely independent and admits being in the outdoors is her happy place, with outdoor pursuits being her favourite tonic to deal with stress or difficulties in her life; Javed (58), Business Coach and Mentor from Ripon, who only discovered his passion for outdoor adventure in adulthood, after growing 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; Kian (19), from London is the youngest person taking part in this series.  A War Studies student and self-confessed survival nerd, Kian has a huge passion for the wilderness, constantly reading and researching the subject, in order to become an expert in the future; Laura (40), Entrepreneur from Lincolnshire, who gave up her lavish lifestyle when she reached her 30s, in favour of a life of outdoors, fitness and adventure, including rowing the Atlantic; Louie, (28), Builder from Wallasey, whose motivation to complete this challenge comes from a lifelong desire to take on this ultimate test; Mike (49), Joiner and master craftsman from Manchester, who is a self-taught bushcraft expert and lover of all adventures involving nature, having turned his life around, following a struggle with drug addiction in the 80s; Naomi (26), Clothing Designer from London, who grew up in Coastal Wales, where she developed a love for the outdoors and a passion for bushcraft.  As a young mum, Naomi is determined to fill her family’s life with adventure and opportunity; Pip (47), Wild Swimming Coach from Aberdeenshire, Scotland, served 17 years as an Army Officer and became the first female Army Commando, now dedicated to supporting others through outdoor-based activities and experiences; Tom (39), Company Director from Portsmouth, whose love for exploration and adventure has helped him to overcome confidence issues stemming from difficult experiences at school.

 

Once dropped at their individual locations, with no camera crew, producers, or experts to help them, the competitors must battle the elements, loneliness and starvation, under the constant threat of predators including bears and wolves.  They face the ultimate trial of skill, mental strength and resilience in one of the most inhospitable locations on earth - and they must do it alone.

 

This six-part series is the first UK version of the international survival hit, Alone.

 

Commenting on taking part in the challenge of their lives, the cast said:

 

Kian: “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.  It’s very, very exciting and very, very scary.”

Louie: “I think this challenge I’m about to do will test every ounce of grit, determination, intelligence, and common sense. This is the ultimate challenge for anyone, and I just hope I’m ready for it. For me, this is 100% a mind game. The physical bits can help me through it, but when push comes to shove, this is a mental challenge, and I’m really ready to see what I’m actually made of.”

Eva: “I would definitely describe this as the maddest thing I've ever done. 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. Not being able to have instant contact with friends and families will be one of the biggest challenges mentally.”

Elise: “The competition for me is definitely with myself, because I don’t want to be in competition with the landscape and with nature. I want to be fully immersed in it, and I want to try and thrive and not just survive in it.  For me it’s all about proving to myself that I can do it. So I’m not going to worry about what anyone else is doing, I’m not even thinking about the end because in my head there is so far to go until I even get there. Deep down I’d like to think that I do have what it takes to make it to the end.”

Laura: “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.”

Mike: “I think the time alone will be a good thing, just to evaluate life but I’m just going in with the thought that it’s going be extremely difficult and painful, and anything other than that is a bonus. 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: “This challenge particularly is going to be huge for me. I am always with people, whether it be friends, partners, family. I'm surrounded by people every day. And so the main challenge for me is going to be the social aspect.  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. But having that feeling is exactly why I need to be doing it. If I was comfortable with being on my own, I wouldn't be here. The fear is what's pushing me to do it.”

Tom: “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. I'm most looking forward to really slowing down, and feeling at one and at peace with my environment. It’s a unique opportunity to live simply, not worrying about bills, and organising work. My job will just simply be to shelter, water, fire, food and look after myself, and to live on that real kind of simplistic level is really exciting to me.”           

Pip: “I’m curious about the environment, I love discovering things, so I go into everything with an open mind. I have a baseline of skills that will sustain me but I’m keen to explore them and develop them in any way possible.  The immersive nature of the challenge is going to be something that’s not only super exciting but super scary too and we don’t normally put ourselves in those sorts of situations.  We reach a point where we’re comfortable and life moseys along so to actually decide to put yourself into something like this is quite interesting. Hopefully my resilience levels will help me keep going.”

Javed: “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. I am curious to see what that’s going to be like. And I am hoping with curiosity to know what day two and day five and day 70 feels like.  That will in itself be a real motivator for me.”

Alan: “The only thing I’m worried about out there is procuring food. I’m not worried about the mental at all, maybe I should be.”

 

Alone has been commissioned for Channel 4 by Ian Dunkley, Commissioning Editor, Factual Entertainment with Alf Lawrie, Head of Factual Entertainment. The series from The Garden, part of ITV Studios, is executive produced by Rachel Bloomfield, Tom Garland, Jo Harcourt-Smith. The Creative Director is Nicola Brown and Head of Programmes is Lucie Duxbury.  Alone is distributed worldwide by A+E Networks.

 

- ENDS  -

NOTES TO EDITORS:

Alone is now in its tenth series on the History Channel in the USA, and is a hit in Denmark, Norway, Sweden, globally on Netflix and other territories to be announced soon.  This is the first time the format has come to the UK.

 

For further information, interview requests, clips and to view the programmes, please contact:

Gail Davidson: gail@gaildavidsonpr.co.uk

 

Picture Enquiries to:

Channel 4 Picture Publicity: picturepublicity@channel4.co.uk

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