Hunted’s mum and son use TV fame to help poorly tot
FUNDRAISER FOR FRIEND’S BABY SON, ADONIS
A “FUGITIVE” Nottingham mother and her son are currently among the stars of Sunday evening TV show Hunted, trying to evade capture by specialist police and cyber experts in surveillance-mad Britain.
Sade Cooke, 38, and Cameron Nightingale, 21, started their quest to win £100,000 by staying on the run for 21 days alongside five other teams of two, and managed to retain their freedom to appear in episode three on Sunday night.
Sade is also using her TV fame to raise money for her best friend’s baby son, who fought off a lifethreatening disease but has been left with complex health issues.
The pair, along with the other teams, were seen on the first programme making their way to Piccadilly Circus, where the game began, via the London Underground and they all had to scatter with the object of remaining free for three weeks.
A team of 30 specialists including former and serving police and intelligence personnel, an EX-CIA agent and cyber intelligence experts, use the fugitives’ online footprints to research and hunt them. The team also has access to replicated powers of the state, including CCTV and ANPR (automatic number plate recognition). While some of the experts remain at Hunted HQ, the hunters search for the fugitives by car, helicopter, drone and for the first time, on motorbikes.
Sade, who runs a lettings agency, and Cameron, who is now in the hospitality industry, were seen in the opening shots of the first episode on Channel 4, and also making their escape from London, but as Sade said: “People won’t have seen a lot of us so far. Instead the programme concentrated on the couple who were eventually captured.”
The couple being referred to were Christine and Munya, who – ironito cally – were caught by the hunters in north Nottingham. Their capture was witnessed towards the end of the first episode.
Sade and Cameron have been fans of the programme since it first aired in 2015 – there have also been five seasons of celebrity specials which raise money for cancer research. Sade said: “After watching one of the celebrity editions, we turned to each other and said ‘we could do that.’ So we applied and heard back a couple of months later. We went for face-to-face interviews and finally were told we had been accepted as two of 12 fugitives. Filming actually took place in June 2022, so we have been waiting a long time to see it and also to remain tight-lipped and not reveal what happened.” Sade was happy to talk about the experience generally and said she can understand now why people on the show become totally obsessed with being hunted. She said: “It’s completely real and not scripted. We really did have no money, were hungry and completely on the run. A cameraman is with you the entire time for 24 hours a day and people say that this gives away your position to the hunters. But actually, if the hunters are near enough to see a camera person, they are near enough to see you.
“It was a much tougher experience than either of us expected and you are always looking over your shoulder, you can never relax. You get totally immersed in not wanting to be caught. My son was the youngest to be on the show and it’s fair to say that it was life-changing for him.
“As a typical young person, he was quite introverted and then suddenly found himself having to ask complete strangers for help with such basics as food and water. I think he definitely emerged ‘as a man’ from his time on the show.”
How long that it is, Sade is not able reveal for fear of spoiling the show. But she did say: “It’s interesting to see for the first time what everyone else’s experiences were on the show and I was delighted how it all looked and that it had not been heavily edited in that first episode.”
Sade is using her newfound fame to fundraise for her best friend Natalie’s son, Adonis Bonnick, who after being born prematurely at 27 weeks was thriving well until he caught a life-threatening infection at five weeks – NEC (necrotising enterocolitis) – which left him with brain damage, liver damage, dystonia, seizures, chronic lung disease and signs of cerebral palsy. He has to be fed through a drip.
Adonis remained in the hospital for eight months and finally went home on February 29 this year but needs 24-hour care. Currently, this is being provided by the immediate family, who are hoping additional money will help provide specialised equipment and treatment for Adonis, and also other families who find themselves in a similar situation.
Natalie, who has three other sons aged 16, 13 and two, said: “We believe there are therapies that could help Adonis but not all of them will be available on the NHS. I am so grateful to Sade, and her niece Olivia, who is holding a cake bake sale, for publicising this appeal.
“Sade is an incredible type of person. In the meantime, I am remaining positive about Adonis and believe that is the most positive way for him to be the best he can in life. This is our third week of having him home, and although no one can tell us what the long-term future is for Adonis as he is one of a kind with his complex problems, we will do our very best by him.”
Anyone wishing to donate to Adonis’ fund can do so at www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/adonisbonnick.
The third episode of Hunted is on Channel 4 on Sunday from 9pm.