| The Island with Bear Grylls | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Also known as | Treasure Island with Bear Grylls |
| Genre | Reality |
| Directed by | Matt Bennett Danny Etheridgel Rupert Smith |
| Starring | Bear Grylls |
| Narrated by | Bear Grylls |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of series | 6 |
| No. of episodes | 44 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | Bear Grylls Ben Mitchell Delbert Shoopman Tim Whitwell |
| Production locations | Isla Gibraleón, Isla San Telmo and Isla Bayoneta, Pearl Islands, Panama |
| Running time | 60 minutes (inc. adverts) |
| Production companies | Shine TV Bear Grylls Ventures |
| Original release | |
| Network | Channel 4 |
| Release | 5 May 2014 – 6 October 2019 |
| Related | |
| Celebrity Island with Bear Grylls Surviving The Island with Bear Grylls | |
| Infobox instructions (only shown in preview) | |
The Island with Bear Grylls is a British reality television programme which premiered on Channel 4 on 5 May 2014 and ran for five series, plus a renamed sixth series and a spin-off series. Narrated by Bear Grylls, participants in the show are placed on remote uninhabited islands as a test of their survival skills. They are left completely alone, filming themselves, with only the clothes they are wearing and some basic tools and training.[1]
Initially pitched as an assessment of the capabilities of British men in the 21st century, the first series (2014) featured 13 male participants. Following accusations of sexism, the second series (2015) used two islands, with 14 women on one, and 14 men on the other. The third series (2016) continued the gender divide theme and featured eight men and eight women abandoned on opposite sides of a single island. The fourth series (2017) focused primarily on age rather than gender and featured initially separate tribes of older (30 to 66 year-old) people versus younger people (18 to 30 years old). The fifth series (2018) involved people from different social classes based on their yearly salary earnings.[2]
The sixth series, now renamed Treasure Island with Bear Grylls, started airing on 8 September 2019. This series is the first to involve cash prizes, dropped from air to the island for the participants to find.[3] A celebrity spin off version, Celebrity Island with Bear Grylls, was first broadcast as part of a charity campaign for Stand Up to Cancer UK in September 2016.[4][5]
On 22 September 2019, Channel 4 confirmed that The Island would not return for a seventh series in 2020.[6] The seventh series was due to be filmed and aired in 2020, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, both the civilian and celebrity series would not return for 2021.[7]
- ^ "Bear Grylls: 'There's nothing fake about The Island'". Daily Telegraph. 19 May 2014. Retrieved 20 May 2014.
- ^ "The Island with Bear Grylls Series 5 - here's how to apply!". 14 May 2017.
- ^ "Treasure Island with Bear Grylls: Press Pack". Channel 4. 3 September 2019.
- ^ http://www.exeterexpressandecho.co.uk/island-Bear-Grylls-apply-series/story-29007088-detail/story.html [dead link]
- ^ Emma Daly (3 May 2016). "Dom Joly, Zoe Salmon and Ollie Locke sign up for celebrity The Island with Bear Grylls". Radio Times.
- ^ "Treasure Island with Bear Grylls | Channel 4". Archived from the original on 22 September 2019. Retrieved 22 September 2019.
- ^ Darvill, Josh (14 July 2020). "New series of Celebrity Island with Bear Grylls postponed due to coronavirus". Telly Mix.