Million Dollar Island contestants had to contend with plenty of challenges (Picture: Channel Seven)
The filming of an Australian reality series on a remote island took a turn when contestants were left in conditions that saw them ‘starving, fainting and bitten by a snake’.
Not unlike Survivor, Million Dollar Island involves a group of people left on a secluded desert island where they undertake a series of challenges for the chance to win a cash prize.
Hosted by former SAS: Who Dares Win’s presenter Ant Middleton, the 100 contestants form alliances, lied, and scheme as they aim to pick up bracelets worth thousands of dollars in the hopes of making it to the end.
However, it turns out that during filming of the series, contestants had more to worry about than simply edging out their competition.
A former contestant has now spilled the beans, offering a behind-the-scenes look at what went down, and from what they described, it was pretty bleak.
Before cameras started rolling, producers were said to have taken away the contestants ‘essential items’, which had included necessities including sunscreen, insect repellent and microfibre towels.
The game started with 100 people left on a remote island (Picture: Michael Mccarthymet)
‘People were losing their s** and fighting with production because they didn’t give us a reason [for confiscating our stuff],’ they former contestant explained.
At the start of the show the group was given wooden boxes filled with food that was meant to last them for the entire four weeks of filming.
With rice, beans and canned food on hand, they were also given basic survival tools like rope and wood.
But the former contestant said that food started ‘running out’ after just a few days, and they weren’t given any extra.
‘We were subsisting on half a handful of rice in the morning,’ they said when speaking to SoDramatic!
‘We were starving on less than 200 calories a day. Within three days, people were standing up and getting head spins.’
The group have been put through plenty of tasks (Picture: Michael Mccarthymet)
While part of the game was to try and live off the land, it proved pretty difficult.
Despite having professional fishermen and survivalists on set, they were reported to have been ‘shocked’ at how few natural resources were available.
Things eventually became so bad that producers started handing out food at the start of challenges, however they were simply snacks like ‘apple slices’.
‘We had no energy to do things and by the end of week two, everyone was lying down in the sun, unable to give anything,’ they added.
Some contestants are reported to have fainted while filming (Picture: Seven)
Many contestants were also claimed to have fainted due to the lack of food and water on the island, with medics said to have been called in.
‘I think the producers didn’t realise how bad it was going to get food-wise,’ the former cast member confessed.
They also explained that while there had been a tank to fill up water bottles, that also ran dry within five days.
Despite the significant prize on offer, it wasn’t enough to tempt everyone to stay, with many contestants deciding to quit the show.
‘Lots of people quit the game, even people you wouldn’t expect to quit. Many contestants ended up in big screaming matches with production behind the scenes,’ the source said.
‘People were standing up for everyone, saying: “You can’t treat us like this”.’
The series is being hosted by Ant Middleton (Picture: Channel 4)
If things didn’t sound bad enough, the animals were also a concern.
‘Somebody got bitten by a snake and there were many deadly, poisonous snakes on the island,’ they said.
They also explained that cast members suffered from tick bites whilst filming on the tropical island.
The series is still airing in Australia, but over the seven episodes that have been released so far, 17 contestants have quit, while four have left due to ‘medical reasons’.
An additional 41 have been eliminated.
Metro.co.uk has contacted Channel Seven and production company Eureka for comment.
Million Dollar Island is streaming on 7Plus in Australia.
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