Channel 4's new reality series Apocalypse has pushed 28 strangers to the edge of human endurance, with contestants revealing they went four days without food while filming the survival experiment earlier this year.
The show, which is available to stream on Channel 4, abandons two teams in a deserted town with no food, water or energy supply. They must survive 28 days without help or guidance. According to Metro, which published an interview with contestants and producers on October 18, the programme is the most extreme reality format since Bear Grylls: The Island.
Contestants Endured Days Without Food and Water
Louise Baker, a mechanic and single mother on the Eastside team, told Metro the conditions were more punishing than anything she had anticipated. On the second day, her team found water. Food came far later.
'We didn't eat any food for four days, and it was on the second day we found our water,' she said. 'At one point, I got out of bed, went to the toilet, and I couldn't walk any more than five steps. My body was literally shutting down.'
Baker said one of her teammates collapsed from not eating enough. She herself lost more than a stone in weight over the 28 days.
On the first day of filming, Baker fell and injured her nose. 'I actually think I broke it a little bit,' she said a year after filming. 'I can feel a bit of gristle there.'
How the Show Was Cast and Monitored
Casting director Kerry Plant said the selection process was designed to find people with genuine practical skills, not just television personalities.
'I always ask myself if I was at a dinner party, who would I want to sit next to?' Plant told Metro. 'We had a really good brainstorm of practical skills we had to make sure they knew for them to say the duration of the show.'
Plant said producers tracked what contestants were doing and how many calories they were eating on average each day. Regular health checks confirmed participants were stable enough to continue.
The range of skills proved essential. Theatre director Bertie surprised producers by building a fully functioning shower from scrap materials found in the town.
Theft and Conflict Became Routine
The two teams discovered each other early in the filming period, and relations quickly deteriorated. The Eastside team found chickens first; the Westside team then stole them. Food supplies were snatched by rivals while some contestants had already gone three days without eating.
A pair of goats was taken despite a warning sign beside them that read: do not touch the goats unless you want to go to war. War, according to Metro's report, became the preferred option.
Baker was among the goat thieves and said she has no remorse.
'We didn't steal anything else from them, they really screwed us over,' she said. 'The goats weren't theirs and they took so much from us - the goats were ours and rightfully ours.'
Why People Sign Up for Ordeals Like This
There is no prize pot and no promise of celebrity for those who finish the 28 days. Executive producer Jo Harcourt-Smith said the show's unpredictability made it different from other formats.
'Normally TV shows can plan out what's going to happen on day 12 or 10 with an elimination here or a challenge, but other than rescue on day 28 and new arrivals coming in, it was a bit of an unknown,' she told Metro.
For Baker, the motivation was personal. Her father had recently been diagnosed with terminal oesophageal cancer, and she left for America to film not knowing if it would be her final goodbye.
'My dad couldn't eat any food and I thought,