Hunted (2015 TV series)

Hunted
Genre Reality show
Directed by Miles Blayden-Ryall
Helen Crampton
Sam Eastall
Georgina Kiedrowski
Tim Lawton
Abi Mowbray
Narrated by Eddie Marsan
Composer(s) Nick Harvey
Country of origin United Kingdom
Original language(s) English
No. of series 3 Regular Series
1 (Celebrity Series)
No. of episodes 18 (Regular Episodes)
4 (Celebrity Episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s) Tim Whitwell
Matt Bennett
Jonathan Smith
Producer(s) Lucy Curtis
Production location(s) United Kingdom
Camera setup multi-camera
Running time 52 minutes
Release
Original network Channel 4
Picture format 1080i 16:9
Audio format DD2.0
Original release 10 September 2015 – Present

Hunted is a British reality television programme on Channel 4 where contestants, known as "fugitives", attempt to evade capture by a group of former police and intelligence officers, the "hunters", for 28 days. The first series ran for six episodes in September–October 2015, and the programme returned on 22 September 2016 for a six-episode second series with 10 new fugitives going on the run to be in with a chance to win a share of a £100,000 prize.[1] The show was renewed for a third series in March 2017, as well as a "Celebrity Edition" in support of the charity Stand Up to Cancer.[2][3] The third series began airing on 4 January 2018. The third series Celebrity Edition has been nominated for a BAFTA 2018 television award in the "Reality and Constructed Factual" category[4].

It was confirmed at the end of the third series that Hunted had been renewed for a fourth series, which is expected to air in late 2018.

Description

A group of civilians, known as "fugitives", are willingly sent on the run from a team of former police and intelligence professionals, known as "hunters", for 28 days (25 days in Series 3). The fugitives must remain in mainland Great Britain; no fugitive in any series has left the mainland to travel to other UK islands, with the exception of Spencer Matthews and Jamie Laing in the celebrity edition of the programme, who traveled to the Isle of Wight.

Where possible, the hunters try to use the same methods of surveillance employed by the state, including open-source intelligence ("OSINT"), cyber-expertise, and interrogating friends and family. When the Hunters do not legally have access to those powers, such as CCTV and ANPR, the powers are replicated for the show.[5]

Hunted (2015–present)

Series 1 (2015)

14 civilian contestants (billed as "fugitives" during the show's run) attempted to avoid a team of former police and intelligence officers for 28 days armed with replicated powers of the state. During their time on the run the fugitives are not allowed to leave mainland Britain, and they give permission to be tracked as if the state were tracking them using methods that the state may use, such as their phones being monitored, their houses searched, their electronic devices analysed, etc. Each fugitive was also given a bank account containing £450.

The contestants still at large on day 28 were required to meet at a secret 'extraction point', Fairoaks Airport in Surrey.

The series was filmed between 4 May 2015 and 31 May 2015.

Fugitives table

Duration on the run (Days)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 Final
28
Sandra Cooley
Elizabeth D'Arcy		 SafeCaptured
(Day 3)
Freddie Young
Jacqui Omer		 SafeCaptured
(Day 7)
Harinder Singh
Davinder Singh		 SafeCaptured
(Day 12)
Adam Young SafeCaptured
(Day 16)
Ricky Allen SafeCaptured
(Day 17)
Adam Channell
Emma Channell		 SafeCaptured
(Day 20)
Stephen Hardiker
Martin Cole		 SafeWon
(Day 28)
Emily Dredge SafeWon
(Day 28)
Lauren English SafeWon
(Day 28)

Hunters

The team of 30 specialists includes former and serving police and intelligence personnel, an ex CIA agent and cyber intelligence experts, who use the fugitives' online footprints to research and hunt them. The team has access to replicated powers of the state, including CCTV and ANPR. Before starting, all the fugitives gave permission to be tracked in the same way as the state might track a fugitive - their cash cards and phones are monitored, their houses searched and their friends and family questioned. The hunters also use media campaigns to recruit the general public into helping them, offering financial incentives.[6] The team is split into two parts: (i) a team of operatives in the field who are in vehicles across the UK, on standby to follow orders from Hunted HQ to head to a particular location to follow up leads on fugitives' whereabouts or to question their friends and family; and (ii) a team in the Hunted HQ to gather Intelligence, which they then distribute to field teams.

Series 2 (2016)

The programme returned on 22 September 2016 for a six-episode second series. Filmed in May 2016,[9] ten new fugitives went on the run, leaving from a location in Birmingham for a chance to win a share of a £100,000 prize.[1] Similar to series 1, the fugitives could take with them anything they were able to carry, given a bank account (this time containing £250) and told not to leave mainland Britain. Each fugitive had with them an embedded camera operator to capture their every move. 30 minutes after they are sent off, the team of hunters were given their full details, along with aerial footage of the 'escape'.

The contestants still at large on day 28 needed to reach a secret 'extraction point' on the River Thames at the Isle of Sheppey in Kent.[10]

Notable events

In episode 4, the hunters captured a decoy sent by Nick Cummings at a leisure centre in Taunton, Somerset, while he is 120 miles away in Tring, Hertfordshire. Madu and Ayo split up after an argument in the same episode.

Fugitives table

10 Fugitives went on the run for 28 days with a chance to share a £100,000 prize.[11]

Duration on the run (Days)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 Final
28
Kirk Bowett
Jez Scarratt		 SafeCaptured
(Day 9)
Mikaela Skinner
Hamish Thoburn		 SafeCaptured
(Day 11)
Lolly Jones SafeCaptured
(Day 14)
Madu Alikor SafeCaptured
(Day 23)
Anna May
Elizabeth Garnett		 SafeCaptured
(Day 26)
Ayo Adesina SafeWon
(Day 28)
Nick Cummings SafeWon
(Day 28)

Hunters

This series saw a slightly larger team, as the hunters were joined by an investigative psychologist and another former member of British intelligence. The hunters were also equipped with sniffer dogs, helicopters and drones.

The information assurance company, NCC Group, provided the cyber-expertise for the show.[14]

Series 3 (2018)

In March 2017, the series was renewed by Channel 4 for a third series to air in 2018.[3] On 17 October 2017 (during Celebrity Hunted), Peter Bleksley confirmed on Twitter that the series would begin airing on 4 January 2018.[15] The fugitives were announced on 31 December 2017 on Hunted's Twitter account. It was also announced that the series would run for only 25 days instead of the previous 28 days. To start their time on the run, the fugitives were driven in the back of a van and dropped off in Manchester city centre.

Extraction

The contestants still at large on day 22 were given a USB flash drive containing details about the extraction point. To view the contents of the USB stick, Dan and Joe went to an Internet café, Bob asked to borrow a computer at a village hall, and Alex entered a high-street business premises and asked the owner if he could use their computer. The document on the USB stick instructed the fugitives to board a boat at Greenway Quay on the River Dart in Devon.

In a shock to the fugitives, the document also informed them that opening the document alerted the hunters to their location, using the computer's IP address. The fugitives successfully fled their respective locations, Alex throwing a piece of paper into a drain in front of a CCTV camera, knowing that the hunters would see. The hunters then spent a considerable amount of time emptying the drain and looking for the piece of paper, which they thought may reveal the location of the extraction point. However, it was a ruse by Alex, and the paper was worthless.

Using mobile phone triangulation, the hunters located the driver who gave Bob lift from Sussex to Devon, and inferred that the extraction point would be on the River Dart. On the morning of the final day, the hunters were 200 metres away from finding Bob camping in a field. The hunters were unable to catch the four remaining fugitives on time and the contestants won £25,000 each.

Fugitives table

Duration on the run (Days)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 Final
Day 25
Carlene Crowe Captured
(Day 1)
Mella Mwamba
Sandra Canrom		 SafeCaptured
(Day 8)
Jamie Clark SafeCaptured
(Day 11)
Magid Mah SafeCaptured
(Day 19)
Alex Ayling SafeWon
(Day 25)
Bob Ayling SafeWon
(Day 25)
Daniel Murphy
Joseph Appleton		 SafeWon
(Day 25)

Hunters

Series 4 (TBA)

It was confirmed at the end of the third series that a fourth series had been commissioned by Channel 4, to air in late 2018. Online sources indicated that the release point for this series would be Liverpool [16].

Celebrity Hunted (2017–present)

Series 1 (2017)

A celebrity series was confirmed by Channel 4 and aired from 10 October 2017 to 31 October 2017. The celebrities donated their fees to Stand up To Cancer.

Fugitives table

Duration on the run (Days)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Final
Day 14
Dominic Parker
Stephanie Parker		 SafeCaptured
(Day 4)
Anneka Rice SafeCaptured
(Day 10)
Jamie Laing
Spencer Matthews		 SafeCaptured
(Day 12)
Jay McGuiness
Siva Kaneswaran		 SafeWon
(Day 14)

Hunters

This series saw the same team and the same replicated powers of the state as in the standard series.

  • Peter Bleksley - The Chief. former undercover detective at Scotland Yard.
  • Ben Owen - Deputy Chief. ex-military sniper and member of British Military Intelligence.[12]
  • Louisa Clarke - Deputy Chief. former Military Intelligence at GCHQ.
  • Dr Donna Youngs - investigative psychologist.
  • David Toddington - Open Source Intelligence specialist and Founder and CEO of Toddington International Inc.[13]
  • Julie Clegg - open-source intelligence specialist. Former police detective and undercover police officer.

The information assurance company, NCC Group, provided the cyber-expertise for the show.[14]

Series 2 (2018)

A second celebrity series was confirmed by Channel 4 in July 2018. In October 2018, it was announced that the series will begin on 16 October 2018.

Fugitives table

Duration on the run (Days)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Final
Day 14
AJ Pritchard
Louis Smith		 Participating
Chris Hughes
Kem Cetinay		 Participating
Dom Joly
Vicky Pattison		 Participating
Johnny Mercer
Kay Burley		 Participating

Production

Each fugitive was filmed by a dedicated cameraperson, who followed the fugitives wherever they went. While filming, the production team was split so that the team working with the hunters was separate from the team working with the fugitives, to prevent information passing between the groups and to provide a more realistic experience. In preparing for production, over 800 Freedom of Information requests were submitted to find the location of state-owned CCTV cameras positioned throughout the British mainland. When real footage could not be obtained, Channel 4 cameras captured footage that would have been available to the state, which was stored on a central database for the hunters to access if they wished. However, they had to "officially" request the information as if it were a real fugitive hunt.[17] The hunters were overseen by an independent adjudicator, former Head of Covert Operations for the Metropolitan Police, Kevin O’Leary, whose job was to make sure that the information requested and gathered by the hunters reflected the information that would be available to them in real life and within the appropriate time frame. He was the only person who had the power to release information to the hunters and would only do so when he considered that the hunters had done sufficient detective work to justify access to the information.[18]

Ratings

Episode ratings are taken from BARB and include Channel 4 +1.[19]

Series 1 (2015)

Episode no.Air dateViewers
(millions)		Channel 4
weekly ranking
110 September 20152.893
217 September 20152.453
324 September 20151.99*3
41 October 20151.77*4
58 October 20151.954
615 October 20152.027
Series average2.18N/A

Series 2 (2016)

Episode no.Air dateViewers
(millions)		Channel 4
weekly ranking
122 September 20164.521
229 September 20164.391
36 October 20164.273
413 October 20164.082
520 October 20164.083
627 October 20164.191
Series average4.26N/A

Celebrity Hunted for SU2C (2017)

Episode no.Air dateViewers
(millions)		Channel 4
weekly ranking
110 October 20173.113
217 October 20172.913
324 October 20173.073
431 October 20172.973
Series average3.02N/A

Series 3 (2018)

Episode no.Air dateViewers
(millions)		Channel 4
weekly ranking
14 January 20182.735
211 January 20182.982
318 January 20182.892
425 January 20182.582
51 February 20182.592
68 February 20182.693
Series average2.74N/A

Critical reception

The Telegraph review complimented the series, saying the "game show element was very effective, playing with our instinctive tendency to take the side of the pursued, and skilfully edited to keep the tension high."[20] The Daily Mirror's Adam Postan described the series as "the biggest TV joke of the year", pointing out that most of the surveillance powers were replicated by methods that were unexplained.[21] Other critics referred to the show as "Slick but frustrating" and "thrilling" leaving you on the edge of your seat chewing your knuckles.

International versions

In the US, the show is produced by Endemol Shine North America under the same title Hunted, which premiered on 22 January 2017 on CBS.[22]

In Spain, the show is produced by Movistar+ in collaboration with Shine Iberia under the title La huida ("The Escape"), which premiered on 8 April 2016 on #0.[23]

In Denmark, the show is produced by Metronome Productions A/S under the title Menneskejagt ("Manhunt"), which premiered on 24 August 2016 on DR3.[24]

In Russia, the show is produced by WeiT Media under the title Охота ("The Hunt"),[25] which premiered on 17 September 2016 on free-to-air network NTV.[26]

In Netherlands, the show is produced by Simpel Media commissioned by AVROTROS under the same title Hunted, which premiered on 17 October 2016 on NPO3.[27]

In France, the show is produced by Endemol Shine Group and commissioned by RMC Découverte under the same title, which is set to premier in 2018.

References

  1. 1 2 Dowell, Ben. "Channel 4 to bring back Hunted… and will pay out £100k in prize money". Radio Times. Radio Times. Retrieved 29 October 2016.
  2. ↑ http://www.channel4.com/info/press/news/stand-up-to-cancer-2017-supporting-programmes-revealed
  3. 1 2 https://www.geektown.co.uk/2017/03/29/channel-4-renews-hunted-series-3/
  4. ↑ "2018 Television Reality & Constructed Factual | BAFTA Awards". awards.bafta.org. Retrieved 2018-04-19.
  5. ↑ "Hunted: The Makings of a Manhunt". Channel 4. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
  6. ↑ "Hunted: Could you go on the Run". Channel 4. Channel 4. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
  7. ↑ Ben Travis (10 September 2015). "Hunted, Channel 4 – Episode 1 review: paranoid real-life thriller series is a gripping watch". The Evening Standard. Retrieved 3 November 2016.
  8. ↑ "The Hunters". Channel 4 Press Release. Channel 4. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
  9. ↑ Miran Rahman (28 October 2016) "End of the road for Keighley's Channel 4 "Hunted" show contestant Anna May", Keighley News. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
  10. ↑ Poppy Jeffery (28 October 2016) "Channel 4's Hunted contestants finish on Isle of Sheppey after Sittingbourne stay", Kent Online. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
  11. ↑ Tate, Gabriel. "Hunted series two: meet the fugitives". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
  12. 1 2 3 Owens, Ben. "Hunted Ben Owens Twitter Account". Twitter. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
  13. 1 2 3 "David Toddington (@HuntedDave) | Twitter". twitter.com. Retrieved 2018-03-08.
  14. 1 2 Group, NCC. "NCC Group tracks fugitives in second series of Channel 4 show Hunted". NCC Group. NCC Group. Retrieved 20 October 2016.
  15. ↑ https://twitter.com/PeterBleksley/status/920411366560817152
  16. ↑ https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/helicopters-been-flying-over-liverpool-14766788
  17. ↑ "Hunted: The Makings of a Manhunt". Channel 4. Channel 4. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
  18. ↑ "Series 2 Guide". Channel 4. Channel 4. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
  19. ↑ "Weekly Viewing Summary (see relevant week)". BARB.
  20. ↑ Gerard O'Donovan (10 September 2015). "Hunted, episode one, Channel 4, review: 'intense'". The Telegraph. Retrieved 19 October 2016.
  21. ↑ Adam Postans (10 October 2015). "Why Channel 4's The Hunted is the biggest TV joke of the year". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 19 October 2016.
  22. ↑ "'Hunted' Reality Series Gets 'Survivor's Slot & NFL-Bolstered Premiere On CBS, Hunted Is AMAZING". Deadline.com.
  23. ↑ "Gran estreno de 'La Huida', el nuevo 'reality' del canal #0". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 8 April 2016. Retrieved 10 April 2016.
  24. ↑ "Menneskejagt på DR3". dr.dk.
  25. ↑ НТВ и ВайТМедиа ищут участников для нового реалити «Охота» (in Russian)
  26. ↑ "British TV Show 'Hunted' to Get Russian Remake". Retrieved 22 January 2017.
  27. ↑ "Kun je zomaar verdwijnen? In het nieuwe én spannende TV-programma Hunted moeten twaalf Nederlanders 21 dagen lang uit handen blijven van een team van professionele opsporingsexperts". npo.nl.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.