Reality show ‘will return to TV screens this year’

CHANNEL 4 bosses have promised that troubled reality show Eden will return to our screens this year but cannot say when.

The series features Perthshire woman Rachel Butterworth as part of a group trying to form a new, self-sufficient community in the Scottish wilderness.

It began in March last year but it was taken off the air after only a handful of episodes, with producers announcing it would return in the autumn.

Since then, about one-third of the participants have walked out.

Rachel, 30, is one of just five women left on the show, alongside 10 men.

Among those who left were the camp’s two doctors, a paramedic and a fisherman.

The aim of the show was to film 23 young people around the clock over the course of a year as they fend for themselves on 600 acres of estate near Lochaber on the west coast.

Unlike most modern-day reality shows, there are no winners or evictions.

The participants were tasked with creating a new civilisation, which involved building shelters, growing their own food and raising livestock.

A Channel 4 spokeswoman said: “The show will be back on screens later this year and our plan is to tell the whole story of their life in the community.

“There’s no transmission date yet but we’ll keep viewers posted with news.”

The show’s Facebook page has not been updated since October.

Fans are continuing to bombard site administrators with questions about the next batch of episodes.

Before taking part in the show, Rachel, from Coupar Angus, visited the Jungle refugee camp in Calais after leading a successful drive to collect donations of aid from local businesses.

Rachel Butterworth