Bear Grylls in new fakery row after C4 show features a 'pond' set up by producers, shipped-in crocodiles, and 'ordinary people' who are survival show specialists
- The Island with Bear Grylls billed as '13 ordinary men on uninhabited island'
- But the show's producers lined and topped up island's water source
- Crocodiles were also released to make sure the men had enough food
- Four of the men sent to island have a history of working on similar shows
- Channel 4 claims all the issues are explained on its website and in the show
Channel 4 has been accused of fakery in the making its new Bear Grylls' series after it emerged some of his 'ordinary' team have worked on similar programmes and the 'desert island' his group are living on was tampered with by producers.
The Island with Bear Grylls is a new reality show in which the TV survival expert aims to take a group of 'normal men' to an island to test their endurance skills.
In the opening sequence, Grylls states: 'Thirteen ordinary British men are about to be abandoned on a remote and uninhabited Pacific island with just the clothes they stand up in and a few basic tools.'
He adds: 'These guys are going to be completely alone, filming themselves... as they struggle to for fire, food, water and shelter.'
But producers were accused of faking parts of the show after it emerged a natural water source on the island was actually a 'topped up' rubber-lined pool.
Two crocodiles like those caught by the men for food were also brought in and released by the crew, producers have said.
Meanwhile, four of the 'ordinary British men' taking part have a history of working on similar shows.
Rupert Smith, 43, has already worked with Grylls directing Escape to the Legion, in which 11 people were taken to an old French Foreign Legion boot camp in the Sahara.
He was also a producer on The Hottest Place on Earth, a 2009 documentary exploring the Danakil Desert in Northern Ethiopia.
Another of the team, Dan Etheridge, 36, also worked on Man vs Wild, a series in which Grylls visits the most dangerous places for a holiday.
Meanwhile sound recordist Kiff McManus worked on series including PQ17: An Arctic Convoy Disaster and Daredevils: A Life of the Edge.
And Matt Bennett, 43, was a producer for Ross Kemp in Search of Pirates, Ross Kemp in Afghanistan and Ross Kemp on Gangs.
The programme's voiceover states that 'three of the team are trained cameramen' and their online profiles on the show's website describe some of their previous TV experience.
The website's 'terms of the experiment' also state producers altered the environment, admitting: 'Additional yucca plants were planted in order to supplement the existing supply.
'Whilst the island had a natural freshwater source, this evaporates during the dry season so production lined and topped up the water source before filming.
'This ensured that there was enough fresh water on the island for the men to survive.'
They also reveal that the men were allowed to send plants for testing if they were unsure if they were edible.
The terms state: 'Production used a drop box system for picking up and replacing camera cards and microphone batteries and we encouraged the men to use the drop box if they were unsure as to whether they could eat something.
'The food would be analysed by our experts so we could confirm to the men whether the food was safe to eat.'
A Channel 4 spokesman said: 'It clearly states in the programme voice over that trained crew are part of the experiment, living under exactly the same conditions as the other men.
'Like all of the men on the island, their professions are captioned on screen and their backgrounds are discussed. Biographies are also on the Channel 4 website.
'We had to ensure the island’s only water supply, an existing muddy pool, would last through filming in the dry season and that there was enough native animals and native vegetation that could sustain the men for 28 days – as long as they had the ingenuity to find it, catch it and kill it.
'This is made clear in the voiceover of the programmes.'
The row comes after Grylls was forced to apologise in 2008 after it emerged he stayed in a motel while supposedly abandoned in the wild for his show Born Survivor.
Commenting on that show, he said: 'If people felt misled on how the first series was represented, I'm really sorry for that.'
REALITY TV OR CAREFULLY-STAGED CON? A HISTORY OF TV FAKERY ROWS
Bear Grylls is not the only star to have his TV showed hit by accusations of fakery.
In 2011, the BBC was criticised for including footage of baby polar bears in its Frozen Planet series, which it later emerged was filmed in a zoo.
A voice over by Sir David Attenborough spoke of the cubs being born 'beneath the snow', but the corporation said the script was 'carefully worded' and did not mislead the audience.
The BBC's Top Gear also came under fire last year after it was claimed actors were brought in to replace members of the public during one of the show's stunts.
Viewers watched as a makeshift hovercraft put together by Jeremy Clarkson and his fellow presenters splashed diners sitting alongside the River Avon, but is was later alleged the people were played by actors.
The BBC refused to comment on the claims but a senior source said at the time: ‘Top Gear is an entertainment programme and I don’t think viewers would have been taken in.’
In January this year, Channel 5 came in for criticism after a crew member was apparently filmed inside the house, holding up cue cards to the housemates, who are not supposed to have contact with the outside world.
A Big Brother spokesman claimed: 'Sometimes members of the task team enter the Big Brother house but they do not communicate with housemates.'
And, earlier this year, TV hit Gogglebox was embroiled in a similar row after one of its stars claimed the programme is scripted.
Makers of the Channel 4 show, which films families watching TV, were accused of telling participants how to react and feeding them funny comments.
A source said to have starred in the show also claimed they were made to change clothes to make it look like the programme was filmed on different days.
A Channel 4 spokesman insisted the cast are filmed two or three times a week and said there was 'no truth' in claims the show is scripted.
