Shipwrecked, one of the first reality shows to hit British screens, began life in 1999.
The series followed the fortunes of a group of young people who’d agreed to leave the modern world behind and try to survive as castaways on a remote desert island, deep in the heart of the South Pacific.
The first two series took place in a beautiful tropical lagoon in the Cook Islands, with the third series moving to a more rugged island off the coast of Fiji.
The show was reborn in 2006 as Shipwrecked: Battle of the Islands – and it was bigger, better and more vicious than ever before.
The bronzed biceps and bikini bodies were back, but gone was the laid back vibe of the first three series. Team tactics, bitter rivalry and a big cash prize had landed with a splash in the South Pacific, and life on the Shipwrecked island would never be the same again…
In Shipwrecked: Battle of the Islands – Series 1, there were now two islands and two tribes – the Tigers and the Sharks - in fierce competition with each other for a £70,000 prize.
Every week, a New Arrival would be stranded in the tropical lagoon. They’d spend half the week living with one tribe, and half the week living with the other. At the end of the week, the two groups would gather for a tense Beach Party, where the New Arrival would make a big decision. Which tribe did they want to live with: the Tigers or the Sharks?
The stakes were high. Whichever tribe managed to attract the highest number of New Arrivals – and seduce members of the rival tribe into joining their community – would win the competition, and split the prize money.
Battle of the Islands – Series 1 saw the Sharks take the prize after nudging into the lead at the very last moment. Series 2 opened with a twist. Battle of the Islands became battle of the sexes, with a Shark tribe made up entirely of boys and a Tiger tribe made up entirely of girls. Who would be victorious?
As the show progressed, old allegiances were broken and new alliances were forged. Castaways swapped islands left, right and centre – and boys and girls, unable to stay away from each other, quickly intermingled. Finally, the Tigers were declared winners – after a final twist in which two contestants from the previous series, John Melvin and Charlie Freeman, returned to the islands to decide which tribe truly deserved the prize.
The biggest twist of all was saved for Series 3, as a third island – and a secret third tribe – was introduced to the show. Every week, two New Arrivals were shipwrecked in the lagoon. Together, they spent half the week with one tribe and half the week with the other, before deciding - unanimously - which island they wanted to live on.
At that point, the winning tribe had a terrible decision to make. They could only accept one New Arrival into their community. The other New Arrival would be sent home - immediately. Cue tears, rows and bitter recriminations all round.
What nobody knew is that the rejected New Arrival wasn’t really being sent home. Instead, they were shipped off to a mysterious third island on the other side of the lagoon, where they became members of a secret third tribe – or, as they chose to call themselves, the Hawks.
Life on the third island wasn’t easy: the Hawks had no luxury items and survived on minimal rations. If they wanted protein in their diet, they had to hunt it and kill it.
In the final week of the show, the Hawk tribe returned to Tiger and Shark islands with a bang, arriving en masse as that week’s New Arrivals.
After spending half the week experiencing life as Tigers, and the other half of the week living as Sharks, the Hawks assembled at the final Beach Party and announced, individually, which tribe they wanted to win. 12 out of the 13 Hawks chose Tigers, giving the Tiger tribe - which had struggled to keep up throughout the series - a resounding victory.
This year, Shipwrecked: Battle of the Islands returns with a shocking new twist. Watch this space…
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