'We tried to smuggle contraband into Apocalypse'

14 hours ago

Sarah Julian,BBC Radio WMand

Oprah Flash,West Midlands

News image — Louise Baker, from Birmingham, is one of the 14 contestants to appear on the show

Matthew Salacuse / Channel 4 A woman with blonde hair pulled back away from her face is wearing a navy blue quarter-zip top with an orange zip and inner liner. She is standing against a computer-generated background of an abandoned town. — Louise Baker, from Birmingham, is one of the 14 contestants to appear on the show

A mechanic and a Reform UK councillor are among 14 people left with no food or water in an abandoned American town for a new Channel 4 reality series.

Apocalypse sees strangers attempt to survive at a site normally used to train the military while competing for limited resources.

Among the contestants are Louise Baker, 43, from Birmingham and Celia Hibbert, the City of Wolverhampton Council's Reform group leader.

Baker said she believed her practical skills would help her cope with the challenge.

"I don't just do mechanics, I do DIY, I've landscaped my garden, tiled my bathroom, I can turn my hand to pretty much anything I want to do and thought, 'This sounds fun. Let's give it a whirl,'" she told BBC Radio WM.

The Garden Production Limited / Channel 4 A group of contestants are gathered inside a sparse, makeshift living space that appears to be part of a survival challenge. Several people sit or recline on basic mattresses and camp beds arranged around the room while one person in an orange top sits in the centre. — The mechanic said she formed lifelong friendships with her Eastside teammates

Hibbert, who represents the Penn ward, said she was attracted by the prospect of doing something challenging.

"Firstly, I heard it was going to be challenging, and secondly, I heard it was going to be something extraordinary that I haven't done before," she said.

"I like adventure, but I also like challenges, and I like being outside my comfort zone. This ticked all the boxes."

The councillor said she grew up in rural Nigeria without consistent electricity or running water.

The Garden Production Limited/Channel 4 A group of four people work together at an outdoor workstation in front of a stone building. One person appears to be seated in a wheelchair while the others are gathered around, handling tools or equipment on a table. — Wolverhampton politician Celia Hibbert (left) was in the Westside team

With nothing but the clothes on their backs, contestants had to endure temperatures as low as -12C (10F) and were split into two rival camps, Eastside and Westside.

Channel 4 said the groups were "surrounded by the remnants of modern life" and had to "recycle, reuse and reinvent anything of use to improve their lives".

Baker said she spent 28 days living alongside seven strangers while searching for shelter, food and water.

"We had to find our own shelter, food, water; we had to ration," she said.

"There is some shouting, some crying, some laughing - there's a little bit of everything, if I'm honest."

Matthew Salacuse / Channel 4 A woman with blonde braids is standing in the foreground wearing a teal zip-up jacket and dark trousers. She is facing the camera with rubble and building materials behind her. — The Reform UK councillor says she likes challenges outside of her comfort zone

She also admitted contestants tried unsuccessfully to sneak contraband into the challenge.

"Before we went in, we got completely stripped down to make sure that we had nothing on us at all," she said.

Despite the difficult conditions, Baker said the experience helped her form lasting friendships with fellow contestants.

"We've found a really good friendship bond, and I suppose we only know what we experienced in that place, so it makes our bond completely different from anything you've ever experienced."

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