SAS veteran and survivalist Bear Grylls (Man vs Wild) narrates The Island, which sees a group of average joe participants filming themselves fending for survival after being dropped off on an uninhabited island with only basic tools. Though met with controversy around sexism, authenticity and its treatment of animals, the show has been a success, inspiring celebrity spinoffs and international versions.

Advertisement

How can I watch The Island with Bear Grylls?

The Island with Bear Grylls is available on All 4. The Celebrity Island spinoff is available on All 4, Amazon Prime and iTunes.

What is The Island with Bear Grylls about?

Grylls pitched the first series as a look at modern masculinity, but was criticised for featuring an all-male cast of 13 participants. The men were pushed to their limits, trying to survive for a month whilst battling the elements, hunger, and their own psyches.

In response to the criticism, the second series featured two casts — one group of men and one group of women — dropped off on separate islands, with episodes alternating between each group. Other series have focused on people in different age and income groups.

Series six will be the first to introduce a cash prize for the winner.

More like this

Where is The Island with Bear Grylls filmed?

Different islands have been used for the series, but they have all been in the same archipelago, Las Perlas, off the coast of Panama. Series one used Isla Gibraleón, an uninhabited island with eight kilometres of coastline. The second series used two islands, returning to Isla Gibraleón and adding Isla San Telmo, which was also used in the third series.

Isla Bayoneta and a nearby island played host to series four.

How many seasons of The Island with Bear Grylls are there?

So far, there have been five series of the show, with a sixth to air in late 2019. The original series also spawned several celebrity spinoffs and international editions in Spain, the United States and the Netherlands.

Advertisement

How do I apply to The Island with Bear Grylls?

Fancy roughing it in the wild? Keep an eye out for casting announcements on Channel 4’s website and Channel 4’s Take Part Twitter feed.

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement