Contestants of the U.K. reality show Eden were left in the wilderness for several months and were not informed that the series was canceled.
The Channel 4 program was supposed to experiment a group of 23 strangers to build a self-sufficient society in a remote 600-acre estate in the Scottish Highlands accompanied by a small camera crew. They were also cut off from all contact with the outside world. Over the course of the show, 13 contestants have resigned, citing boredom, health and safety concerns, according to Press and Journal.
The show aired four episodes last summer but the network decided to pull the plug on the yearlong experiment due to low ratings which dropped to less than a million viewers. However, no one bothered to tell the remaining 10 contestants or the crew.
Last week, the group return to civilization and they were informed about the events that had happened in last year, including Brexit, Donald Trump becoming US president, and the cancellation of their program.
Eden. Promotional photo by Channel 4.
The network has not commented on the controversy but told The Guardian that Eden will return later this year just in a less timely fashion that it originally began airing. “The appeal of Eden is that it was a real experiment, and when filming began, we had no idea what the results would be and how those taking part would react to being isolated for months in a remote part of the British Isles,” Channel 4 said in a statement. “That’s why we did it and the story of their time, including the highs and the lows, will be shown later this year.”
The remaining contestants who were left in the wilderness have yet to speak about their experience in public.
