Alasdair Humberstone started a three-month stint away from his friends, family and his beloved Leicester Tigers on Friday night as a BBC Castaway.
The 19-year-old, whose family lives on the Northamptonshire-Rutland border, took his first steps in front of a massive TV audience as the new series of Castaway kicked off with a 60-minute special on BBC1, presented by Danny Wallace.
Parents John and Jill, who are both born and bred in Leicester, joined other family for the launch programme.
"Alasdair did say that the thing he would miss most during his 13 weeks away would be information on how Tigers have got on," said John. "I told him we would record their TV games while he is away!"
Alasdair is part of a 13-strong group on the remote island in New Zealand. They will have the opportunity to evolve throughout the project and one viewer will get the chance to join them by entering the Cast Me competition.
A former Uppingham School pupil, Alasdair is on a gap year before starting a business studies degree at Newcastle University. As well as supporting Tigers, he also enjoys cycling, fishing, kite boarding, mountain boarding and skiing.
It is seven years since the original Castaway but the purpose of the programme is the same - to take a group of people as far away from their current lives as possible to explore what's really important to them and discover how they shape their community. BBC say the people who have been chosen reflect many aspects of British life, covering a variety of ages, backgrounds, skills and personalities.
The castaways will explore the best ways to live in close quarters with people with whom they may not initially seem to have much in common.
Commissioning editor Elaine Bedell said: "We've got a great mix of personalities and backgrounds from around the country. They each have their own reason for wanting to undertake this unique experience and we hope that they will all achieve some personal goal or discovery along the way. It's a chance for us all to reflect on what is important to us once the daily commute, the school run and our hectic modern schedule are stripped away."
Transmission details
Sunday, March 11
Castaway, BBC1, 9pm: the first of 12 weekly shows aired every Sunday. Each is followed by Castaway Exposed on BBC3 at 10pm.
From Monday, March 12
Castaway - The Last 24 Hours, BBC3: Each night from Monday to Thursday for 12 weeks, an exclusive update presented by Danny Wallace.
Red button: After every Castaway-related programme on BBC1 and BBC3, there will be a new episode of Danny's Diary, available to digital viewers via the Red button.
www.bbc.co.uk/castaway: The Castaway website is full of exclusive content - daily videos, news updates, photo galleries, blogs from Danny and the programme's experts in the UK, and a weekly video podcast.
The 19-year-old, whose family lives on the Northamptonshire-Rutland border, took his first steps in front of a massive TV audience as the new series of Castaway kicked off with a 60-minute special on BBC1, presented by Danny Wallace.
Parents John and Jill, who are both born and bred in Leicester, joined other family for the launch programme.
"Alasdair did say that the thing he would miss most during his 13 weeks away would be information on how Tigers have got on," said John. "I told him we would record their TV games while he is away!"
Alasdair is part of a 13-strong group on the remote island in New Zealand. They will have the opportunity to evolve throughout the project and one viewer will get the chance to join them by entering the Cast Me competition.
A former Uppingham School pupil, Alasdair is on a gap year before starting a business studies degree at Newcastle University. As well as supporting Tigers, he also enjoys cycling, fishing, kite boarding, mountain boarding and skiing.
It is seven years since the original Castaway but the purpose of the programme is the same - to take a group of people as far away from their current lives as possible to explore what's really important to them and discover how they shape their community. BBC say the people who have been chosen reflect many aspects of British life, covering a variety of ages, backgrounds, skills and personalities.
The castaways will explore the best ways to live in close quarters with people with whom they may not initially seem to have much in common.
Commissioning editor Elaine Bedell said: "We've got a great mix of personalities and backgrounds from around the country. They each have their own reason for wanting to undertake this unique experience and we hope that they will all achieve some personal goal or discovery along the way. It's a chance for us all to reflect on what is important to us once the daily commute, the school run and our hectic modern schedule are stripped away."
Transmission details
Sunday, March 11
Castaway, BBC1, 9pm: the first of 12 weekly shows aired every Sunday. Each is followed by Castaway Exposed on BBC3 at 10pm.
From Monday, March 12
Castaway - The Last 24 Hours, BBC3: Each night from Monday to Thursday for 12 weeks, an exclusive update presented by Danny Wallace.
Red button: After every Castaway-related programme on BBC1 and BBC3, there will be a new episode of Danny's Diary, available to digital viewers via the Red button.
www.bbc.co.uk/castaway: The Castaway website is full of exclusive content - daily videos, news updates, photo galleries, blogs from Danny and the programme's experts in the UK, and a weekly video podcast.
