A flood risk consultant from Mull has been selected from thousands to take part in TV’s latest primetime reality show.
Douglas (Doug) Swinbanks, 32, joined a cast of 18 people who were marooned in a tropical location and divided into two tribes, competing against each other in a range of physical and mental challenges for reward or immunity.
Hosted by Joel Dommett, Survivor UK is described as the ultimate physical and psychological game that promises viewers a compelling test of brains, brawn and betrayal as players compete to outwit, outplay and outlast their rivals to be crowned the Sole Survivor and claim a £100,000 purse.
The show originally aired from 2001 to 2002 on ITV but was stopped after two seasons.
Last year, however, it was reported Survivor UK would be making a come back on BBC and in September 2022 it was confirmed the series would be returning with 16 episodes.
Doug remembers watching the original UK Survivor back in 2002 with his family and even went as far as re-enacting some of the original challenges.
“When I saw that it was returning to TV in the UK, I wasted no time in putting my application in,” he told us.
“Next thing I know – I’m on a desert island building a shelter from bamboo.
“I went on Survivor to make my family back home on Mull proud and have the adventure of a lifetime – it was certainly that.”
A former Mull RFC player, Doug was hopeful he could put his height of 6ft 4ins to good use and be a useful asset for the challenges.
“I also enjoy making people laugh, so hopefully I made everyone’s experience a little more enjoyable on the island and spread a little joy,” he added.
To prepare for the show Doug spent a lot of time at the gym doing sled work when he would load the sled up with his bodyweight and push and pull it 50 times a session. That, and Pilates.
Back home on Mull, Doug consumes between 3000-4000 calories a day, so hunger and a real lack of food was a huge concern going onto Survivor, and to prepare he went on a strict “see-food” diet where he would try and eat as much food as possible.
His final weight before entering the game was 107kg – the heaviest he had ever been.
“Limited rations at camp was tough, especially after the gruelling challenges but we found some creative ways to keep it varied and bulk it out as much as we could,” he added.
“I’ll never ever eat rice and beans again.”
Doug flew out to the Survivor destination at the end of June leaving girlfriend Tytti (pronounced Tootee), family and friends at home. He could not tell us how long he was there due to confidentiality.
“It was Tytti’s idea to apply in the first place, she is my biggest fan and one of the hardest parts of the whole thing was leaving her behind,” said Doug, who suffice to say survived the experience.
Survivor will be aired on BBC One and BBC iPlayer from Saturday October 28 at 8.25pm. Episode two will follow on Sunday October 29 from 8pm.
The first episode will be screened live in Macgochans pub, Tobermory on Saturday.