Don’t tell me I can’t…
Taking part in The Island With Bear Grylls has given Karen Bretagne a new lease of lifeé
be an adventurer!
Camping, let alone sleeping under the stars, was never something I’d envisaged doing. But when my husband Bernard said he was applying to go on The Island With Bear Grylls, there was no way I wasn’t going to enter, too.
We’re the most competitive couple you’ll ever meet. So, aged 50, I found myself sitting down to answer a series of questions about why I was the perfect contestant. The harsh realities didn’t enter my head, nor did the fact I hadn’t ever slept in a tent…
The only adventure I’d had was in my late teens when I worked in Egypt, taking tourists up and down the Nile. I was there two years before returning home.
My daughter Aimee was born in March 1987, and after my relationship with her dad fizzled out, I was happy on my own. That is until nine years later, when I met Bernard.
We fell in love and in April 2002, our son Bernard Jnr was born. Bernard and I got married two years later and like most families, busy with work – running three supermarkets in Devon – we relished our summer holidays. They were never very far-flung – the furthest we’d get was Wales!
But as we approached our fifties, and contemplating the prospect of an empty nest, Bernard and I decided we fancied an adventure. So when, in May 2016, he saw an advert for The Island With Bear Grylls – which sees two groups of strangers, one younger group and one older group, abandoned on two neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean – we knew we had to apply. We’d seen every series and loved it, but we were surprised when we got through to the next round.
A few weeks later, we headed to the interview in London. I told producers that although I had no idea how to build a shelter or start a fire, I was keen to learn.
When weeks passed and we’d not heard anything, I assumed we hadn’t been picked. But then, in September 2016, the phone rang. It was a producer calling to say that although Bernard hadn’t made it, I had. I was stunned.
Aimee worried I wouldn’t physically be able to do it and my son thought it was hilarious, but I couldn’t wait to fly out.
Three weeks later, I travelled to Panama, where I met the three other women and four men I’d be living with. Then, as we boarded the boat that would take us to our new home, Bear waved us off.
From afar, the island looked like paradise. Within 10 minutes, however, I decided it was horrible! Flies, cockroaches… there were creatures everywhere.
We were given one set of clothes, two machetes, a knife and enough water to last 24 hours. We had no mattress and we were told to hunt for food.
Yet even though I’d found myself in such stark surroundings, I knew I had to get on with it. Three days in, I had got used to the insects, only eating one meal a day and sometimes relying on just coconuts because we’d failed to catch any fish. At most, we had 300 calories a day and I ended up losing 3st.
Living in such close quarters with the other islanders meant we quickly forged close friendships, and the memories of laughing all day long in such adverse conditions will live with me forever. There were a few territorial issues initially but we were soon working as a team.
Still, there were plenty of tough moments, including trekking across five miles of mud, finding it impossible to keep a fire lit and – towards the end, when my blood-sugar levels dropped dramatically – I even ended up fainting! But despite it all – and although I was excited about seeing Bernard and the children – I was still sad to say goodbye to the island. And, of course, I know it will be surreal watching myself on TV. But I can’t wait for that either!
The show gave me such a new lease of life. I’m far more resilient now. Whereas before I’d become a people pleaser, now I’ve learnt it’s OK to say no sometimes. And I’m already thinking about my next adventure. Bernard and I have talked about retiring and going on an amazing holiday somewhere far away – although I know one thing for sure, we definitely won’t be camping. From now on, it’s hotels all the way for me!
✱ The Island With Bear Grylls, Mondays at 9pm on Channel 4
‘We had to hunt for food’