Castaway 2000
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''Castaway 2000'' is a
reality TV Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...
programme broadcast on
BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...
throughout 2000. The programme followed a group of thirty-six men, women, and children who were tasked with building a community on the remote Scottish island of
Taransay Taransay ( gd, Tarasaigh, ) is an island in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. It was the host of the British television series '' Castaway 2000''. Uninhabited since 1974, except for holidaymakers, Taransay is the largest Scottish island without a p ...
. Described as a pioneering early form of the new genre of reality TV, while a ratings success it nonetheless featured a number of issues during filming, leading to bad publicity and even a legal dispute. It launched the television career of participant
Ben Fogle Benjamin Myer Fogle, (born 3 November 1973) is an English broadcaster, writer and adventurer, best known for his presenting roles with British television channels Channel 5, BBC and ITV. Early life Fogle is the son of English actress Juli ...
but, according to the ''
Radio Times ''Radio Times'' (currently styled as ''RadioTimes'') is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in May 1923 by J ...
'', the show is probably "remembered for little else." Seven years later the BBC resurrected the show for ''
Castaway 2007 ''Castaway 2007'' is a follow-up to the BBC series ''Castaway 2000'' in which a group of people from the British public are "castaway" on a remote island. While in the 2000 series 36 men, women and children moved to a remote Scottish island for ...
''. In 2016 Channel 4 began airing a similar show, ''Eden'', which drew many comparisons to and lessons from ''Castaway''.


Development

The show followed a year-long effort by thirty-six men, women and children from the British public to build a community on
Taransay Taransay ( gd, Tarasaigh, ) is an island in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. It was the host of the British television series '' Castaway 2000''. Uninhabited since 1974, except for holidaymakers, Taransay is the largest Scottish island without a p ...
, a Scottish island in the
Outer Hebrides The Outer Hebrides () or Western Isles ( gd, Na h-Eileanan Siar or or ("islands of the strangers"); sco, Waster Isles), sometimes known as the Long Isle/Long Island ( gd, An t-Eilean Fada, links=no), is an island chain off the west coast ...
. Billed as a bold experiment for the new millennium, the castaways were to build a sustainable self-sufficient community from scratch (apart from some buildings which were already there, and some which had been placed there for them). They were to grow their own vegetables, kill their own animals and become a community for the year. The series differed from some reality shows in several essentials. First, there was no supporting crew. The castaways filmed themselves. Second, there is no competition. ''Castaway 2000'' had no prize on offer at the end of the year-long experience, in comparison with
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...
's '' Big Brother'', which came along later in the year. The goal was to build a community rather than select a "winner". In this it is as much a documentary of a yearlong experiment in community building as it is a reality television show. The series producer was Chris Kelly for Lion Television, executive produced by Jeremy Mills for Lion and Colin Cameron for
BBC Scotland BBC Scotland (Scottish Gaelic: ''BBC Alba'') is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcaster in Scotland. It is one of the four BBC national regions, together with the BBC English Regions, BBC Cymru Wales and BBC Northern Ireland. I ...
.


Castaways

Candidates for the programme were selected and trained by survival expert John "Lofty" Wiseman to represent a cross-section of British society. * Ray Bowyer * Gordon and the Carey family * Liz Cathrine and Dez Monks * Tanya Cheadle * Sandy Colbeck * Monica Cooney (with child) * Ron Copsey * Julia, Colin and Natasha Corrigan * Hilary Freeman *
Ben Fogle Benjamin Myer Fogle, (born 3 November 1973) is an English broadcaster, writer and adventurer, best known for his presenting roles with British television channels Channel 5, BBC and ITV. Early life Fogle is the son of English actress Juli ...
* Tammy Huff * Peter and Sheila Jowers * Trevor Kearon * Mike Laird * Warren Latore * Julie Lowe * Gwyneth and Patrick Murphy * Padraig Nallen * Philiy Page * Trish Prater (with children) * Roger and Rosemary Stephenson (with children) * Toby Waterman * James Roberts


Production

The Castaways were allowed to bring a certain number of personal possessions with them, but some of these were dropped during an airlift and possessions were either lost or damaged. Miss Lowe was one of four Castaways who lost personal possessions they had chosen for the year when a container carrying supplies fell into the sea during an airlift. There was an outbreak of flu early in the year and soon afterwards they were offered antibiotics because of a nearby outbreak of meningitis. The castaways, including eight children, reared their own cattle, sheep, pigs, and chickens, and built an environmentally sound infrastructure including a wind turbine, hydro-electric dam, waterless urinals and long drops. Living in turf covered eco pods, the castaways built a school, a
slaughterhouse A slaughterhouse, also called abattoir (), is a facility where animals are slaughtered to provide food. Slaughterhouses supply meat, which then becomes the responsibility of a packaging facility. Slaughterhouses that produce meat that is no ...
and erected poly tunnels to grow produce. With such a large number of participants from many varying ways of life, there were many arguments on the island. One notable clash was between a family of devout
Seventh-day Adventist The Seventh-day Adventist Church is an Adventist Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the seventh day of the week in the Christian (Gregorian) and the Hebrew calendar, as the Sabbath, and ...
s and a
gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...
man. Tanya Cheadle, a 26-year-old television producer, did much of the filming for the show – it was believed that having too many camera operators would undermine any sense of isolation. Smaller cameras were later provided to castaways, and a fixed camera was installed in a "diary room". Every two weeks, producers would visit to collect the footage. At the end of the year some episodes were transmitted live and the castaways were joined by presenter
Julia Bradbury Julia Michele Bradbury (born 24 July 1970) is an Irish-born English television presenter, employed by the BBC and ITV, specialising in documentaries and consumer affairs. Her passion is the outdoors and more recently following her cancer diagn ...
.


Problems

In 2016, the ''
Radio Times ''Radio Times'' (currently styled as ''RadioTimes'') is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in May 1923 by J ...
'' identified several errors in the execution of the ''Castaway'' programme that the makers of the forthcoming similar show ''Eden'' should avoid, namely: * Cast – it argued that 36 cast members was too large, preventing the emergence of noteworthy participants for viewers * Filming – it was believed that having too few cameras meant too many crucial moments were missed * Press attention – prior to broadcast, journalists managed to learn of issues such as the flu outbreak, resulting in negative press and an attempted incursion by boat * Visitors – With the mainland visible from Taransay, and an established community on nearby Harris, it proved impossible to prevent the frequent intermingling of castaways with locals, who allegedly even attended parties and exchanged goods. The bothy on the island had also regularly been visited by passing sailors and tourists attracted by the natural beauty prior to the show, and producers were ultimately unable to stop this from continuing during the show - allegedly concealing from viewers the fact that hundreds of visitors had signed its visitor book by the end of the year. * Departures – some castaways were permitted to leave temporarily for funerals etc., while others successfully left the island for good – one attempted escape "became the subject of a massive press circus – including a speedboat chase – subjecting the show to ridicule". Ray Bowyer, Ron Copsey, Hilary Freeman and the Carey family left the island early. After leaving, Ron Copsey was reported to have complained about the programme's producers. One of the programmes shows
Ben Fogle Benjamin Myer Fogle, (born 3 November 1973) is an English broadcaster, writer and adventurer, best known for his presenting roles with British television channels Channel 5, BBC and ITV. Early life Fogle is the son of English actress Juli ...
threatening to leave though about halfway through the year a visit from friends and family was organised. * Information – contrary to the rules, castaways were able to smuggle mobile phones onto the island, and a communal radio was set up in community kitchen. Castaways allowed to leave temporarily also brought back information from the outside world. * Conditions – the decision to expose castaways to foul weather in a bleak landscape was deemed to have produced a "grim" experience for viewers of the resulting footage * Building – the building of the eco pods was allegedly not begun on time, leading to delays and problems with contractors * Non-cooperation – in addition to those who departed in protest at the conditions, some of the other castaways decided not to cooperate and instead revolt against producers, declaring themselves the Taransay Five and erecting a self-designed flag from their pod, and deciding not to take part in filming. This led to a deep division in the community by the end of the experiment, between those who did and did not cooperate. Castaway Ron Copsey later indicated that he felt the production company had gone too far in their attempts to create drama for the show, including manufacturing a storyline that indicated there was conflict between himself and other castaways, but using footage that was from a conflict between him and producers. Copsey sued the BBC and Lion TV for libel, and was awarded £16,000 as restitution.


Broadcast

''Castaway 2000'' was broadcast throughout the year on BBC One. The first run of four episodes proved a ratings hit, attracting audiences of 7–8 million viewers in January of that year. Four more "updates" were broadcast around Easter, in April 2000 with 6.5–7.5 million viewers. 5.4–6.4 million tuned in for a third series of updates that were aired in September, with the final series of episodes in December 2000 and January 2001. These included a series of live, 10-minute broadcasts from
Taransay Taransay ( gd, Tarasaigh, ) is an island in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. It was the host of the British television series '' Castaway 2000''. Uninhabited since 1974, except for holidaymakers, Taransay is the largest Scottish island without a p ...
presented by
Julia Bradbury Julia Michele Bradbury (born 24 July 1970) is an Irish-born English television presenter, employed by the BBC and ITV, specialising in documentaries and consumer affairs. Her passion is the outdoors and more recently following her cancer diagn ...
that were broadcast daily in the last week of 2000. The final instalment of ''Castaway 2000'' was broadcast on 17 January 2001 as ''Castaway 2000: the Good, the Bad and the Ugly'' and was watched by 4.9 million viewers. Three documentaries were also broadcast, including the final episode.


Transmissions


Series


Specials


Reception

According to the ''Radio Times'' looking back 15 years later, the show's "integrity as a pioneering format was diluted by what some participants have since argued was the production’s obsession with conflict, as well as regular interference and assistance from the outside world."


Awards and nominations


Legacy

For most castaways, life returned to normal after the project closed on 1 January 2001. Only
Ben Fogle Benjamin Myer Fogle, (born 3 November 1973) is an English broadcaster, writer and adventurer, best known for his presenting roles with British television channels Channel 5, BBC and ITV. Early life Fogle is the son of English actress Juli ...
, who was heavily featured in the shows and comes from a media family, has continued to work in TV, appearing as a regular on ''
The Holiday Show The Holiday Show is an Irish travel show that first aired on TV3 in Ireland on 4 January 2013. The show sees presenters Ciara Whelan and Jon Slattery travelling to various locations throughout Ireland exploring the depths of Ireland's hidden ho ...
'' and ''
Countryfile ''Countryfile'' is a British television programme which airs weekly on BBC One and reports on rural, agricultural, and environmental issues in the United Kingdom. The programme is currently presented by John Craven, Adam Henson, Matt Baker ...
'' amongst others. The Stephenson family were inspired to try home education for their children. An official
hardcover A hardcover, hard cover, or hardback (also known as hardbound, and sometimes as case-bound) book is one bound with rigid protective covers (typically of binder's board or heavy paperboard covered with buckram or other cloth, heavy paper, or occa ...
book about the project, written by author Mark McCrum, was published in November 2000 by
Ebury Publishing Ebury Publishing is a division of Penguin Random House, and is a publisher of general non-fiction books in the UK. Ebury was founded in 1961 as a division of Nat Mags and was originally located on Ebury Street in London. It was sold to Century ...
and in updated
paperback A paperback (softcover, softback) book is one with a thick paper or paperboard cover, and often held together with adhesive, glue rather than stitch (textile arts), stitches or Staple (fastener), staples. In contrast, hardcover (hardback) book ...
version in April 2001. Despite initial talks of a second shorter series, it did not return until 2007; however was the inspiration for a children's spin-off series created by ''
Live & Kicking ''Live & Kicking'' is a British children's television series that originally aired on BBC1 from 2 October 1993 to 15 September 2001. It was the replacement for ''Going Live!'', and took many of its features from it, such as phone-ins, games, c ...
'' that was broadcast on
CBBC CBBC (initialised as Children's BBC and also known as the CBBC Channel) is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the bran ...
in the summer of 2001. Since the original show's ending, Taransay has been opened up to tourists. Castaway Tanya Cheadle married Paul Overton, an assistant producer on the series, on the island in 2004. The wedding was attended by ten other castaways including Fogle. In 2008,
BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...
broadcast a new 5-part series titled ''Return to... Castaway''. The show featured interviews with stars of the original series and behind the scenes recollections from cast members, as well as original series highlights.


References


External links

*
Castaway 2000 - Taransay off the Isle of Harris
*{{IMDb title, 0244334
Castaway 2000 article in New York TimesHow Castaway made my life hell
BBC reality television shows BBC Television shows 2000s British reality television series 2000 British television series debuts 2001 British television series endings English-language television shows Television shows set in Scotland Television shows filmed in Scotland