Survivor Outland - Butlins Bognor Regis.

As most Survivor fans will be aware, this series was originally intended to be set in the hills of Afghanistan. All the preproduction was complete and the survivors were actually on their way to the location when war broke out. We were left with a tough choice - to cancel the series or to find another location within 24 hours. Since this was extremely short notice we were relieved when our travel agent found us something which was eminently suitable - the Butlins holiday camp at Bognor Regis. Although Butlins might not seem like an ideal substitute for Afghanistan, there are in fact many similarities : a hostile climate, a fanatical regime, a lack of decent food, lots of donkeys, and people who wear silly clothes all the time. We immediately accepted the booking and headed off to West Sussex.

Naturally we had to make some changes to the show. For example we had to drop the Immunity Challenge in which the tribes had to see which would be the quickest to stone to death a woman who had burnt her husband's toast that morning - instead the challenge involved a Karaoke competition in the Skyline Pavilion. It was too late to change everything - the original Afghani tribe names have been retained, and we still managed to include the "Shag The Harem" challenge (couldn't drop that one - think of the ratings!). But all in all we think the production team worked miracles to adapt the series to its new location. Butlins were also wonderfully co-operative - make sure you read all about Butlins and their Bognor Regis camp on the Butlins page.