Participants on the British reality show Eden—where 23 people elected to spend a year secluded in the Scottish wilderness—returned to civilization only to learn that the show had been cancelled. Welcome to paradise, baby.
The U.K.’s Channel 4 aired but four episodes of Eden last summer, after filming began in July 2016. Very few people tuned in, though, and 11 of the volunteers ended up quitting the show. The remainder were reportedly never told that Eden had stopped airing.
The programme, which first aired in July last year, was billed as a social experiment where 23 strangers were brought to the remote west Highlands of Scotland to build a self-sufficient community away from technology and modern tools. The year-long saga would be recorded by four crew members and personal cameras.
Despite the show being taken off air, those still toiling for survival in the wilds of the 600-acre estate on the Ardnamurchan peninsula were not informed that their ordeal had not been broadcast since August.
What if you risked everything to be filmed in the wilderness but, all along, there was nobody around to see you torture yourself for entertainment? What was the “prize” involved anyway? Naturally, some of the people involved in the show came away from the experience feeling salty:
The exodus, which includes the camp’s two doctors and a paramedic, is said to have been sparked by a mixture of hunger and disillusionment with the project, as various factions formed within the participants.
At least two volunteers are understood to have tried to return to the programme, having regretted their decision to leave, but show insiders said the remaining contestants had refused to sanction the move.
Looks like the producers wanted a real-life Lost and the participants didn’t realize what they’d signed up for other than the empty promise of fame.
All of this means not enough people saw this:
A rep expects that the rest of the show will air at a date to be determined. “The appeal of Eden is that it was a real experiment and when filming began we had no idea what the results would be and how those taking part would react to being isolated for months in a remote part of the British Isles,” she said in a statement. “That’s why we did it and the story of their time, including the highs and the lows, will be shown later this year.”
Here are some photos of these poor souls trying to survive.
