‘I was a contestant on Alone – bears were constantly outside my tent, I was scared they’d take my knickers’

Naomi was joined by bears while taking part in Alone (Picture: Channel 4 / Matt Jacques)

When you think of spending time alone it may conjure images of a peaceful self-care evening with a face mask, perhaps a glass of wine and your favourite TV show, but for the cast of Alone, it wasn’t quite that easy – instead, they were dumped in the middle of nowhere in a space unoccupied by human beings, and had to survive with no contact from the outside world.

Naomi Aldwyn-Allsworth, 27, swapped her life in London as a fashion designer for the Canadian wilderness on the Channel 4 series and admitted it was a ‘crazy’ decision.

Along with 10 other ‘ordinary’ Brits, Naomi was placed by the Mackenzie River, in the Dehcho region of Northwest Territories – they were all at least one mile away from each other.

The person who was able to last it out for the longest won the series, and secured a life-changing £100,000.

It wasn’t just a case of twiddling their thumbs and hoping the others would give up soon, instead, they had to hunt for their own food and build makeshift homes in order to survive for as long as possible.

Despite the title of the show, Naomi quickly discovered that she wasn’t completely alone, and had a few unwelcome neighbours.

The cast is battling it out for £100,000 (Picture: Channel 4)

‘Bears came to visit me almost every night. They would be metres away,’ she told Metro.co.uk.

‘It was frightening at first but then you kind of get used to it. Before the experience began I thought if I saw a bear then I’d instantly tap out but I surprised myself with how brave I am.’

Each contestant was given full safety training on the best way to handle animal encounters.

‘We learned to shout “hello bear” when walking into a new space as that is meant to let them know we’re human, and not a threat. I was invading their space, they weren’t invading mine. I had to respect that.’

Of course, Naomi also had to plan for dangerous situations.

‘I had a foghorn given to me but was told it would only work six-eight times, so I was fearful of wasting it. I also got given pepper spray but was told the scent remained on your clothes and they could think you’re food.

‘I came up with my own methods to scare them away. I would bang on my pan or aggressively shout if they came near.

‘We are also given a GPS device to use in absolute emergencies but the safety team is 40 minutes away, so they’re not going to be much help to you in the moment.

‘Plus, if you call for help then you’re out of the competition.’

Naomi found that the bears were attracted to one particular part of her camp.

‘They loved me. One day, I washed my knickers in the river and put them on a line that I made.

‘When I went to bed I could hear the bear huffing and puffing. They were attracted to the scent. I remember thinking: “Please don’t take my knickers, I only have two pairs”.

‘When I went outside in the morning I saw they were still there. I was grateful, but then also a bit offended.’

While the bears were scary, she became fond of other wildlife.

‘I used to like watching the squirrels. I knew how to kill and cook them, but I think I got more joy from watching them.

‘I don’t think the small bit of nutrition they’d have given me was worth taking a life.’

Naomi had to catch all her own food (Picture: Channel 4/ The Garden TV)

Instead, she took to fishing: ‘I found it so satisfying to eat a meal I’d caught with a net I’d made.’

Although, food collection didn’t always go to plan.

‘Sometimes I’d just be eating bugs and I shouldn’t even admit this, but there were times I would consider eating my own bogies as I was so hungry. A lot of the stuff I ate was vile.

‘The starvation got so much that it felt like my muscles were being eaten away by bugs underneath my skin.

‘At night, I’d have such vivid dreams that I was in the supermarket putting food into my basket. It was painful to wake up and for it not to be true.

‘There were points where I thought, “Is this safe?” I want to go back to my normal life, and be a healthy mum after this.’

Naomi is mum to Barnaby, four, who is part of the reason she has such an interest in survival skills.

She unexpectedly got pregnant while studying sportswear design at university and experienced post-natal depression. ‘I lost myself,’ she recalled.

In order to try to get back to who she was, Naomi signed herself up for a survival course. Naomi made the decision after remembering how much she enjoyed testing out the clothing she designed during her course. She fell in love with it.

Despite her passion for it, Naomi was initially hesitant when the show approached her as it would be her biggest challenge so far and she’d have to leave her son Barnaby for an unknown amount of time.

In the end, Naomi decided to go for it in order to show Barnaby what you can achieve in life when you’re passionate.

‘He was never far from my mind throughout the process. I thought about him all the time, especially as his birthday happened while I was away.

‘When we were reunited I was telling him all the stories and he loved them. It’s been a year since I came home and he still wants to hear them. He is my biggest motivation.’

Naomi missed her son (Picture: Channel 4 / The Garden TV)

Taking part in the show has changed her life completely. Upon returning to the UK Naomi founded The Rambler’s Mistress where she empowers women through nature offering day events and weekend retreats.

‘I want them to feel how I felt,’ she told us.

While she hasn’t left fashion behind completely, she is also spending more time working at the Bear Grylls Survival Academy and Desert Island Survival – training other people and gaining more qualifications.

‘I had so much time to think about my life, and I really realised that having these adventures is what I love to do. I went from graduate to mum in two months, so I never knew myself as an adult.

‘Doing this show meant I could actually learn to love who I was.’

Naomi was surrounded by natural beauty (Picture: Channel 4 / The Garden TV)

She continued: ‘It was so nice to even just not know the time. I’d wake up and go to sleep with the island.

‘I was surrounded by such natural beauty, which is so far removed from my city life. I grew up in coastal Wales and so I grew up outdoors, and I was reminded of that.

‘I learnt I was so much more capable of things than I thought. We all are, but we just don’t test ourselves.’

She now even has ambitions to move to Canada with her partner Chris, and their son Barnaby.

Naomi dreams of moving to Canada one day

Naomi also credits the show for giving her more confidence.

Each contestant had to record themselves on camera equipment provided to them for up to eight hours per day and this played on Naomi’s mind. As a result, she arrived on location with freshly washed hair and a full face of makeup.

‘I wanted to look decent so I put on makeup for a confidence boost. I’ve grown up on social media, and I can compare myself to others. 

Naomi has grown in confidence (Picture: Channel 4 / Matt Jacques)

‘I was scared about being exposed for the first time on TV. 

‘People may have underestimated me as a result but I’m used to that. Just because I look a certain way doesn’t mean I’m not more than capable,’ Naomi explained.

‘By the end, I was emotionally vulnerable, hungry, tired and completely unfiltered. I kind of forgot about how I looked – I was smelly, gross, dirty and my leg hair was impressive but I felt more confident than I’d ever felt before.’

Alone airs on Sundays at 9pm on Channel 4. Last week’s episode is available to stream now.

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