Channel 4's new reality show Apocalypse drops two teams into a deserted, decimated town with no food, water, or energy supply, forcing them to survive 28 days unaided. Contestant Louise Baker, a mechanic and single mum, describes the extreme conditions, including going four days without food and her body shutting down.
Survival Without Food or Water
Louise, a key member of the Eastside team, fell on the first day of filming, possibly breaking her nose. She says, 'I actually think I broke it a little bit, I can feel a bit of gristle there.' Despite this, she continued. So far, only one contestant has dropped out, due to tensions with teammates rather than the perilous conditions.
The teams have been at war since discovering each other. The Eastside found chickens first; the Westside stole them. Food supplies were snatched, with some people going three days without eating. Louise recalls, 'One of the girls passed out through not eating enough food. We didn't eat any food for four days, and it was on the second day we found our water.'
Casting and Production Challenges
Casting director Kerry Plant focused on practical skills and mental resilience. 'We had a really good brainstorm of practical skills we had to make sure they knew for them to say the duration of the show,' she says. Theatre director Bertie surprised everyone by building a functioning shower from scraps.
Executive producer Jo Harcourt-Smith admits the show's unpredictability was a challenge: 'Normally TV shows can plan out what's going to happen on day 12 or 10 with an elimination here or a challenge, but other than rescue on day 28 and new arrivals coming in, it was a bit of an unknown.'
Theft and Conflict
Theft became normal, from Spam to a pair of goats, despite a warning sign reading 'do not touch the goats unless you want to go to war.' Louise was among the goat thieves and shows no remorse, claiming the other side 'took so much from us.' She lost over a stone in weight during filming.
Despite the misery, more than 7,500 people have applied for a second series. Louise's motivation was personal: her father had terminal oesophageal cancer. 'There's no way that I could have put myself into that position apart from doing this. It was the only way that I could try and resonate and understand what he was feeling was to do the show.'
