A PR executive from ski and walking specialist Inghams has described her motivation for becoming a contestant in new Channel 4 reality TV programme Alone.
Elise Wortley was selected as one of 11 contestants to take part in what is described as “TV’s most extreme and uncompromising survival experiment”.
In the six-part series, which started on August 6, contestants are dropped in the Northern Canadian wilderness, where each must survive entirely alone for as long as possible while filming their own adventure.
Each contestant is provided with only a small selection of basic tools, with the last one left standing winning £100,000.
Wortley, who has previously received coverage for her Woman with Altitude project showcasing history’s forgotten female adventurers, said she wanted to show women “had a place in the male-dominated adventure world”.
She said: “I took part in Alone as I couldn’t say no to the opportunity to be fully immersed in one of Earth’s last great wildernesses.
“I’ve experienced first-hand the benefits of nature on mental health, and I wanted the chance to leave modern life behind and live purely off the land – the most sustainable way to live.
“I also wanted to show that all women have a place in the male-dominated outdoor and adventure world. I went into this challenge with no bushcraft or survival experience, I had never used an axe, made a fire without matches, built a shelter or gone fishing.
“This experience taught me about resilience, self-belief, patience, courage and, of course, myself, who I got to spend an awful lot of time with.”
Alone is based on the US series of the same name which is now in its tenth series. It airs on Channel 4 at 9pm on Sundays.