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Survivor (British TV series)

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Survivor (also known as Survivor UK outside of the UK) is a British adventure reality game show based on the international Survivor format. Following the premise of other versions of the Survivor format, the show features a group of contestants, referred to as "castaways" as they are marooned in an isolated location. The castaways must provide food, water, fire, and shelter for themselves. The contestants compete in various challenges for rewards and immunity from elimination. The contestants are progressively eliminated from the game as they are voted off the island by their fellow castaways. The final castaway remaining is awarded the title of "Sole Survivor" and a large monetary prize.

Survivor
logo of series
GenreReality competition
Created byCharlie Parsons
Based onExpedition Robinson/Survivor
by Charlie Parsons
Presented by
StarringJohn Leslie
Theme music composerRuss Landau (2001–2002)
Jeremy Birchall (2023)
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series3
No. of episodes42
Production
Executive producersNigel Lythgoe (2001–2002)
  • Stephen Lovelock
  • Natalka Znak
  • Georgina Hinds
  • Claire O'Donohoe (2023)
Running time60 minutes (inc. adverts)
Production companiesPlanet 24 (2001–2002)
Remarkable Entertainment (2023)
Original release
NetworkITV
Release21 May 2001 (2001-05-21) –
29 May 2002 (2002-05-29)
NetworkBBC One
Release28 October (2023-10-28) –
16 December 2023 (2023-12-16)
Related
International versions

The series aired for two seasons on the ITV network in 2001 and 2002, but the series was considered a ratings failure despite the programme having a higher viewership than other reality series at the time, including Big Brother. ITV cancelled Survivor after two seasons because it had failed to garner a loyal viewership. The network admitted fault for not supporting the series enough in its launch phase, highlighting the key issue with their approach to the scheduling of the series.

In September 2022, a revival of the series was announced by the BBC, and premiered on 28 October 2023 on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.[1]

Format

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Further information: Survivor (franchise) § Format

The show follows the same general format as the other editions of Survivor. To begin, the players are split into two tribes and are taken to a remote, isolated location and are forced to live off the land with meagre supplies for a period of several weeks. Frequent physical and mental challenges are used to pit the tribes against each other for rewards, such as food or luxuries, or for immunity, forcing the other tribe to attend Tribal Council, where they must vote one of their tribemates out of the game by secret ballot.

About halfway through the game, the tribes are merged into a single tribe, and challenges are on an individual basis; winning immunity prevents that player from being voted out. Most players that are voted out during this stage become members of the Tribal Council Jury. When only two or three players remain, the Final Tribal Council is held. The finalists plead their case to the Jury as to why they should win the game. The jurors then have the opportunity to interrogate the finalists before casting their vote for which finalist should be considered the "Sole Survivor" and be awarded the grand prize. The prize on the 2001–2002 ITV iteration was £1,000,000[2] and is £100,000 on the 2023 BBC iteration.[3]

Like other editions of the show, the British edition has introduced numerous modifications or twists on the core rules to prevent players from over-relying on strategies that succeeded in prior seasons or other editions of the show. Most notably, the Hidden Immunity Idols (small trinkets hidden on the island) were introduced part way through the third season. Players can use these hidden idols to save themselves or another player at the Tribal Council from being voted off. Also introduced was The Outpost, which exiles players for a predetermined amount of time while offering dilemmas and decisions that may help or hinder their game.

History

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Original run

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The first series, Survivor: Pulau Tiga, premiered on ITV on 21 May 2001.[2] Billboards were shown across the UK displaying the slogan "You Don't Win, You Survive". The billboards created confusion amongst viewers as it misled them into thinking people would die throughout the game. Executive producer Nigel Lythgoe complained to the Heat magazine about the decision. He said: "The tagline when I left for Borneo was 'Trust No One', which is great. When I got back it was, 'You Don't Win, You Survive'. Well, you did win – you won a million pounds! And of course you survive, because we're not going to let you die."[4] Despite Survivor receiving initial media coverage, the debut episode opened with 6.6 million viewers, which was seen as a disappointment for ITV.[5] Despite the figures, an ITV spokesperson said: "We couldn't have hoped for anything better. We never expected 10m on the first night although we hope it will build to this. You have got to remember that we introduced 16 strangers and a complicated gameshow to the audience and we are confident it will grow. It's already a massive talking point, making the front pages."[5] Ratings for the series then dropped to an average of 5 million, which was half of the audience that the network had expected.[6] In response, ITV made the decision to transmit fewer episodes per week to allow the anticipation for the series to grow.[7] However, their change failed to have an impact on viewing figures.[8] Nevertheless, the finale of the first series received 7.7 million viewers, peaking at 9 million.[9]

Despite being low in ratings by ITV's expectations, Survivor was the most watched reality television series in the UK at its time of airing, such as Big Brother.[10] After the first series had concluded, Julia Lamaison, ITV's Head of Strategy, admitted that the network were too hopeful with their expectations for the series. They had hoped for a series average of 12 million viewers, accrediting their hopefulness to the success of the series in America. Lamaison also admitted that ITV had not supported Survivor enough in the first series, particularly with the time slot and the scheduling.[11] Despite the low ratings for the first series, ITV aired the second series, Survivor: Panama, a year after the first. Survivor faced an overhaul, the changes of which included fewer contestants, audience participation and replacing presenters Mark Austin and John Leslie with one sole presenter, Mark Nicholas.[12] It was aired every Wednesday at 9:45 pm and episodes were repeated on Fridays at 8:30 pm. The second series was also accompanied by Survivor: The Last Word, a televised interview with evictees, as well as a supporting series, Survivor: Raw, broadcast on sister channel ITV2.[13] After Survivor's viewership failed to increase, ITV cancelled it after two series.[4]

I'm a Celebrity ... lawsuit

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After Survivor was axed by ITV, the network began broadcasting I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!, the format of which had many similarities to Survivor, and which received massive ratings in August 2002. The show's similarity in content to Survivor led many viewers to believe that the shows had some licensing agreement, however this was not the case. Legal action was sought by CBS to prevent broadcast in the US, however the court ruled against, stating that "Celebrity is different enough from Survivor that CBS would have difficulty prevailing in its underlying copyright infringement suit."[14]

2023 revival

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Following the Banijay Group's acquisition of Castaway Productions, who own the Survivor format, it was said in 2017 that the company were looking to revive Survivor in the UK. Banijay's CEO Peter Langenberg spoke to Broadcast about the potential return, stating that RDF, the largest British production company within Banijay, is attempting to rekindle interest in the format amongst broadcasters. He explained: "Having hands on the format means we can polish it and come up with Survivor 2.0, because it needs a refresh".[15]

Reports began circulating again in 2022 that the series would be revived, this time with BBC One said to be the potential new home of the series. Broadcast reported that the revival deal for Survivor is "on the brink", and that if the deal is finalised, the third series of the programme will be filmed in 2023 with thirteen episodes.[16] Digital Spy's Daniel Kilkelly put forward his hopes for a revival of the programme. He felt that the key reasons for the series' initial failure lay with having a pre-recorded format which meant that viewers had no say into the events of the series. However, Kilkelly opined that the success of The Apprentice and The Great British Bake Off, both of which use pre-recorded formats, suggested that the British audience would now be ready to support a Survivor format.[4] In September 2022, it was confirmed that Remarkable Entertainment (a subsidiary of Banijay) would produce a new series and would air on BBC One in 2023 consisting of 16 episodes.[17] Contestant applications opened on 24 November. With the announcement of the application process, the prize of £100,000 was revealed.[3][18] On 17 February 2023, Joel Dommett was confirmed as host of the revival.[19]

Cancellation

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In August 2024, the BBC had announced that Survivor has been axed after just one series due to a struggle in ratings.

Series overview

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List of British Survivor series
No. Game Information Results Host
Location Start date Finish date Days Castaways Original tribes Winner Runner(s) up Final vote
ITV iteration (2001–2002)
1 Pulau Tiga, Sabah, Malaysia 21 May 2001 (2001-05-21) 25 July 2001 (2001-07-25) 40 16 Two tribes of eight new players Charlotte Hobrough Jackie Carey 7–0 Mark Austin[a]
2 Bocas del Toro, Panama 13 March 2002 (2002-03-13) 29 May 2002 (2002-05-29) 37 12 Two tribes of six new players Jonny Gibb Susannah Moffat 7–0[b] Mark Nicholas
BBC iteration (2023)
3 Playa Caleton, Dominican Republic[3] 28 October 2023 (2023-10-28) 16 December 2023 (2023-12-16) 34 18 Two tribes of nine new players Matthew Haywood Christopher Haul &
Leilani Sen 		6–1–1 Joel Dommett
Notes
  1. ^ John Leslie hosted a live studio-based companion show, conducting exit interviews with the players and presenting additional footage of events from the game.
  2. ^ On Survivor: Panama, the British public cast a Jury Vote by televoting, alongside six eliminated players. The British public voted for Jonny Gibb with 89% of the vote.

Production

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Locations

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Continent Locations Season number(s)
Asia   Malaysia Pulau Tiga, Sabah 1
Central America   Panama Bocas del Toro 2
North America   Dominican Republic Playa Caleton 3

International broadcast

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The series airs on the following channels outside of the UK:

  • In Australia, the BBC iteration of the series is available to stream on the 10 Play on the day after each episode has aired on BBC One. This is a companion to Australian Survivor aired by Network 10.[20]
  • In New Zealand, the BBC iteration is available to stream on TVNZ+.[21]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Survivor will land on BBC One and BBC iPlayer in 2023". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
  2. ^ a b "How to survive Survivor". BBC News. 17 May 2001. Retrieved 12 August 2022.
  3. ^ a b c Ravindran, Manori (24 November 2022). "'Survivor' U.K. Opens Casting for Historic BBC Edition". Variety.
  4. ^ a b c "Why Survivor deserves a second chance on UK television". Digital Spy. 1 May 2022. Retrieved 12 August 2022.
  5. ^ a b "Survivor makes disappointing debut". Digital Spy. 22 May 2001. Retrieved 12 August 2022.
  6. ^ "Survivor to be cut back?". Digital Spy. 6 June 2001. Retrieved 12 August 2022.
  7. ^ "ITV confirms Survivor shift". Digital Spy. 6 June 2001. Retrieved 12 August 2022.
  8. ^ "Survivor fails to gather pace". Digital Spy. 6 June 2001. Retrieved 12 August 2022.
  9. ^ "Survivor final draws 8m". Digital Spy. 26 July 2001. Retrieved 12 August 2022.
  10. ^ "Survivor proves a TV dinosaur". BBC. 25 July 2001. Retrieved 12 August 2022.
  11. ^ "Survivor 2 decision awaited". Digital Spy. 28 August 2001. Retrieved 12 August 2022.
  12. ^ "Survivor returns with new look". BBC News. 13 March 2002. Retrieved 12 August 2022.
  13. ^ "Survivor 2: ITV releases scheduling details". Digital Spy. 6 March 2002. Retrieved 12 August 2022.
  14. ^ "CBS loses lawsuit; ABC's "I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here!" to air in February". Reality TV World. 14 January 2003. Retrieved 4 May 2009.
  15. ^ "Banijay Acquire Castaway Productions, Could Survivor UK Return?". 20 July 2017.
  16. ^ "BBC on brink of Survivor reboot". Broadcast. 11 August 2022. Retrieved 12 August 2022.
  17. ^ "Survivor will land on BBC One and BBC iPlayer in 2023". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 10 September 2022.
  18. ^ Shaw, Neil (24 November 2022). "You can apply to be on Survivor as reality TV show makes comeback". HullLive.
  19. ^ "The tribe has spoken and Joel Dommett is confirmed to host Survivor, lighting a torch on BBC One and BBC iPlayer". www.bbc.co.uk. 17 February 2023. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
  20. ^ "Survivor UK 2023: Meet The Contestants". 10 play. 25 October 2023.
  21. ^ https://www.tvnz.co.nz/shows/survivor-uk [bare URL]
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