Channel 5 strands Ruby Wax on remote island for new docuseries

Ruby Wax Castaway

UK broadcaster Channel 5 has ordered a two-part docuseries following American-British actor and comedian Ruby Wax as she experiences life stranded on a remote island.

The 2 x 60-minute series, with the working title Ruby Wax Castaway, sees the titular TV personality left alone on a remote uninhabited island off the coast of Madagascar, where she documents her entire experience using her own handheld camera and body-cams.

Produced by Burning Bright Productions, the series sees Wax putting herself through the ultimate test in an extreme psychological and physical challenge. A mental health campaigner, Wax has a particular interest in how modern urban life challenges us. This island experience is a chance for Ruby to explore how solitude compares to the challenges of busy contemporary lives.

Pitting her wits against the force of Mother Nature, with only herself and a camera to talk to, Wax’s everyday quest will be to source the four survival priorities – water, food, fire and shelter, as she documents her inner thoughts on her diary cam.

The production team will be stationed offshore, in case of emergency, and Ruby’s mental health and safety will be monitored as the experience progresses.

“If people are expecting Love Island, imagine how disappointed they’re going to be… I like to do things that take me by surprise.  I’m used to doing something a little hardcore.  I know what it is in the beginning, it’s hell but by the end you find out why you did it. That may happen … or I may sue the production company,” joked Wax.

Executive Producer and MD at Burning Bright Productions, Clive Tulloh, added: “I have been working with Ruby Wax on and off since 1989 I am thrilled to finally get the chance to abandon her on a desert island.”