Exodus from Eden as 4 cast members quit... over midges
Arrival of swarms and bitter rows are blamed for forcing them out
FOUR of the cast of Channel 4’s survival show have quit – less than three months into the year-long project.
Eden – which continues tomorrow night – was billed as ‘a ground-breaking social experiment’ in which 23 strangers would cut ties with society and start from scratch in a Scottish wilderness.
But The Scottish Mail on Sunday can reveal the radical concept has already proven too much for some of the group.
Programme insiders confirmed last night that four of the original participants had left the reality series shot on the Ardnamurchan Peninsula – but refused to reveal their identities.
Locals said the remaining cast had erected four small wooden crosses on
‘They were begging me for chocolate’
the sand dunes at the edge of the 600acre site to mark the departures.
Elsewhere, tormented by hunger pangs, they were also begging passersby for chocolate.
Cracks were already starting to show in last week’s episode, as the would-be pioneers – aged from 24 to 54 – jostled for position and struggled to cope with extreme weather, daily chores and basic rations.
Rowing coach and ‘adventurer’ Anton Wright cut himself off from the main group after his bid to build a winter shelter in the woods was voted down.
The cast, recruited for such unique skills as gamekeeper, doctor, plumber, yoga instructor and chef, entered the site at the end of March – but the programme was only aired for the first time on July 18. One local resident said yesterday: ‘It’s true, four of the 23 have quit Eden. Viewers won’t know yet because what’s being screened at the moment is the early stages of the cast’s struggle to survive the weather, food restrictions and disagreements – back when it started in the spring.
‘I think it’s maybe a combination of personal conflicts among the cast and the arrival of the midges in early summer that caused them to quit.
‘The midges are a bad enough experience for us who are used to them – but they must be ten times worse for the mostly English cast who’ve probably never been bitten by them before.’
The local added that he had found out about the deserters from the cast, saying: ‘I was walking close to the 7ft security fence that screens the site from the public when what sounded like the voices of two young women shouted to me over the fence, begging me for any chocolate I might have. They sounded desperate and must have had a sweet
tooth. They told me four of them had left the series but they wouldn’t say why or who it was.
‘But they were sure that Anton the loner, who seems to be rubbing everyone up the wrong way, was not one of them, which surprised me.
‘They also mentioned that to mark the four’s departure, four small wooden crosses had been erected on top of the sand dunes looking out over the sea to Eigg and Rum. Later, I was out on my sea kayak and saw the crosses on the shore.’
Despite some critics questioning quite how basic the starting provisions were, the show has proved to be a ratings success so far – with 2.3 million viewers tuning in for the first episode.
But Eden’s popularity led producer KEO Films to issue a warning last week, urging the public to stay away from the encampment, three miles west of the village of Acharacle in Argyll.
Executive producer Andrew Palmer urged people to pay heed to a ‘right to roam’ exemption order under Section 11 of the Land Reform Act, which was approved by Highland Council on the grounds that unidentified intruders could pose a risk to those taking part in the series.
It emerged last night that a 30-year-old man was charged by police after reports he had attempted to enter ‘Eden’ by landing his boat on the beach and trying to access the restricted site.
The incident in May was reported to the procurator fiscal in Fort William, Inverness-shire, but the Crown Office confirmed last night that no action would be taken. A spokesman said: ‘The procurator fiscal received a report concerning a 30-year-old man in connection with an alleged incident at Cuill na Croise beach, Gorteneorn, on May 2, 2016.
‘Following full and careful consideration of the facts and circumstances of the case, the procurator fiscal instructed that there be no proceedings.’
An Ardnamurchan local said: ‘We were quite shocked that the right to roam was revoked on the site. We understand that the producers want the cast to be left alone and most people respect that.
‘But it seems very heavy handed to charge someone and I think it was used as a warning to others. It is good that no action is to be taken and the lad will not have to appear in court.
‘What seems wrong to me is that the producers showed footage of boats landing on the beach in the last episode. If they don’t want the public to visit, don’t encourage them.
‘The producers have now started going out in a small boat and patrolling the shoreline but it doesn’t stop us going out onto the water and getting on with our daily lives.’
Asked to confirm or deny if four cast members had quit the Eden series, a spokesman for Channel 4 said: ‘We know people are interested in hearing about the community but we would not want to spoil the series for viewers.’