Sandra and Mella Interview for Hunted S3

29 December 2017

/* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0cm; mso-para-margin-right:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0cm; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-language:EN-US;}

Why did you want to take part in Hunted?

I've always had something different and new going on in my life but I started to feel like everything I was doing was just becoming predictable, routined and a bit robotic, so taking part in Hunted was my way of giving myself a shock to my system, it was the chance for me to get an adrenaline rush and put myself in a situation that I have never been in, something new, a new challenge!

What special skills or attributes made you think you’d succeed in this?

I don't think I brought any specific hard skills, in fact I thing I would be seen as an underdog haha, but I think my attitude is what helped, I like to persevere, I'm very competitive and I always try and problem solve.

What did you think the experience would be like making the programme, and how did the reality match up to your expectations?

I thought there would be loads of cameras and we wouldn't be able to really feel like we were fugitives but no, it literally felt like I was in a different bubble to everyone else, almost like the hunger games but without the killing haha! I knew that we had to survive. Once it was Mella and I were on the run, with Stevie our director/producer, it didn't feel like TV. You forget the cameras are there, it’s just you and your natural instincts, in fact it felt like Stevie was going through the same motions as we were sometimes.

Did you pick up any tips from having watched the first two series?

Oh yes. The idea was not for us to make the same mistakes, phoning home etc. basically make sure we don't do anything that got anyone else caught before, but we tried to take the good bits too. We wanted to head to the bothies too, just like Dr Allen on the first series.

Did you go into it with loads of detailed plans, or did you just go where fate took you?

We had a bit of both, sometimes it was planned and sometimes we left it to fate, it’s really hard to plan, it can take just one moment of second guessing yourself and then you'll just totally change your mind. Planning just helped us with different options but in the moment we when with what felt right.

What was the toughest aspect of the whole experience?

Knowing who to trust was hard but it was almost more of an afterthought because in the moment, you want to believe what someone is saying but then after you like, "err… should I have said that much, do they look like they may need money". It's also hard being in a stressful situation with someone else for a long period of time. We both react differently and think differently. Even though Mella and I are friends, we both still got on each other’s nerves, and wanted our own space.

Did you find yourself getting paranoid?

I have never been so paranoid in my life!!! I can honestly say that I questioned anyone and everything. We were paranoid about leaving our finger prints and any traces of ourselves behind. I was paranoid about Stevie our director/producer, paranoid of the people that we just met… almost thinking whether we should change our plans immediately.

Did you form bonds with people when you were away? Did you meet people who were a really big help to you?

We met so many people that helped us... more than what we what we expected, we got everyone to sign the back of our map, so we could remember them. We stayed in peoples house.... even the Newcastle students gave us money but one guy in particular was amazing, he drove us almost 50 miles!

Were there any particular high or low points in the whole thing for you?

There was a scene, where we almost tried to not get seen by CCTV because it was going into a building where we were staying the night but in the end we had no choice but to walk in front of cctv, so we came up with a cohort idea... of trying to camouflage against the building to "almost" not being undetected... it was funny as hell!

The lowest point was receiving a call from my mum and knowing that our location had been compromised. That was the moment when we realised that the hunters knew where we were, I was so gutted because I knew we were starting from the start again!

What would you say you learned from this experience?

I've learnt to make a fire! It was my first experience of camping, complete guerilla camping style and I made it through in one piece, and I didn't completely not love it! The biggest thing I've learnt about myself, is how I missed having the unpredictability of life, the adrenaline rush that I used to get from sport, the not knowing what is going to happen but still working towards it. I want to be out of my comfort zone again, challenge myself more and do things that are different. Meeting some of the people along the way was great too because I got a sense from some of the people that helped that I wasn't alone in wanting to break the usual life mould!