The show claims to test the suriving tactics of your average Joe by placing them on an island and leaving them to fend for themselves.
Bear says about The Island: ‘I want to find out what happens if you strip man of all the luxuries and conveniences of modern living and then force him to fight for his existence.’
‘Let’s see what British man is made of.’
It was later revealed that the contestants had worked on TV shows including Ross Kemp’s Extreme World and Bear Gryll’s previous survivor shows.
One contestant had even served in Afghanistan.
The production company admits to embedding ‘professionals’ amongst the men, but did not clarify who they were.
A spokesman said: ‘We had to ensure the island’s only water supply, a muddy pool, would last through filming in the dry season and that there was enough native animals and native vegetation that could sustain the men for 28 days – as long as they had the ingenuity to find it, catch it and kill it.’
The claims come following Bear Gryll’s apology to fans in 2008 when it emerged he had stayed in a hotel rather than in the wild during filming of Channel 4’s ‘Bear Grylls: Born Survivor.’