Alone contestant sustains axe injury just four hours into joining wilderness show

A contestant on the new Channel 4 wilderness reality show, Alone , sustained an axe injury just four hours into joining the series. Alone , which premiered last night (6 August), is a six-part series that sees 11 members of the British public put to the ultimate survival challenge. The competition, which is already a successful format in the US and Scandinavia, follows a group of competitors as they are individually dropped on their own in the remote wilderness of north-west Canada . The contestants, aged 19 to 58, must fend for themselves and survive for as long as possible. One of the contestants was a joiner called Mike, 49, who had previously struggled with drug addiction and who joined the show with the hope that it would be ‘a defining moment in my life’ that would ‘open doors’. But just four hours into landing in the wilderness, Mike accidentally put an axe through his leg while building his shelter, and had to be helicoptered out of the competition, leaving 10 contestants remaining. ‘I can’t f***ing believe it,’ he told the camera when the incident happened. ‘I’ve f***ing nailed myself. F***ing hell man, it’s bleeding now. F***ing hit the side of my leg with an axe and I know it needs stitches. Absolutely gutted.’ Speaking to the camera when he was rescued, he added: ‘Absolutely devastated. I’ve worked with tools all my life. This was going to be the start of something different, and it’s all collapsed. Didn’t even get a chance.’ The UK series of Alone , which is airing weekly on Sundays, was filmed on land around the Mackenzie River, in the Dehcho region of Northwest Territories, Canada. The area is inhabited by bears. The competitors were each dropped a minimum of one mile away from each other for the series, and each had their own designated area of around 3.75 square miles. Each competitor had to carry a GPS device at all times, which allowed the production team to monitor the competitors’ whereabouts, and they had satellite phones so they could call for help if needed. Contestants were allowed to choose 10 survival items from a list of 53 essential items, and were given five cameras with multiple mounts, enabling them to film themselves. Competitors were given full safety training on the best way to handle animal encounters. The person who survives the longest on the show will win a £100,000 prize. Read The Independent ‘s review of the first episode here .