Escape from Scorpion Island

Escape from Scorpion Island is a BBC children's TV adventure game show in which contestants try to 'escape from an exotic island with a mind of its own' by doing various challenges to improve their chances of escaping. Series 1 was made by RDF Television for CBBC and was filmed in Brazil, while series 2 onwards were produced by Foundation/Freehand for CBBC and ABC Television and were filmed in Australia.[1][2][3]

Escape from Scorpion Island
Title card
Created by	CBBC
Presented by	Caroline Flack and Reggie Yates (series 1) JK and Joel (series 2–3) Myleene Klass and Johny Pitts (series 4–5)
Country of origin	United Kingdom Australia (series 2-5)
No. of episodes	84 (UK) 86 (AUS)
Production
Production locations	Fernando de Noronha, Brazil (series 1) Mission Beach, Queensland, Australia (series 2–3) Tallebudgera Valley, Queensland, Australia (series 4–5)
Running time	30–60 mins
Production companies	Series 1 RDF Television Series 2–5 The Foundation Freehand Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Distributor	RDF Media Group (series 1-4) Zodiak Media (series 5)
Release
Original network	United Kingdom BBC One (series 1) BBC Two (series 2) CBBC Channel (series 3-5) Australia ABC1 (series 2-3) ABC3 (series 4-5)
Original release	3 September 2007 – 25 July 2011
External links
Website

The show has been presented by 3 different sets of presenters; Caroline Flack and Reggie Yates (series 1), JK and Joel (series 2–3) and Myleene Klass and Johny Pitts (series 4–5). The show ran for five series across four years before being cancelled in 2011 following the end of BBC's and ABC's partnership.

Format

A number of adventurers, aged 11–14 and from either the UK or Australia, are brought to a mythical island called 'Scorpion Island', a tropical and exotic island that appears to have a mind of its own. Once on the island the adventurers are divided into two teams, usually either 'Team Sting' or 'Team Claw', though series 3 featured a third team called 'Team Venom', and for the first half of series 5 the teams were boys vs girls. The number of adventures on each team are usually fixed, though a team may lose, gain and swap members as the show goes on, depending on the series. The ultimate goal of each series for each team is to escape the island, so along the way the teams compete in various challenges to better their chances of escaping the island. Whoever wins the final challenge escapes the island while the losing team(s) are left behind.

The show has been filmed in a variety of different locations and each series introduces different challenges and storylines. The challenges were usually a mix of both metal challenges and main physical challenges, and the challenges are done in either small teams or individually. Sometimes a team who is successful in the first challenge gets an advantage in the following challenge, such as a time bonus. Examples of the challenges faced throughout are:

• Transporting certain objects from one area to another while suspended in the air on wires
• Climbing/abseiling down a rock or cliff-face
• Completing a large jigsaw puzzle
• Collecting objects/running down an assault course
• Driving an off-road buggy around a track
• Swimming down a river or area of water while collecting objects
• Filling a funnel with water so the object floats to the top
• Assembling a raft and then paddling
• Throwing an object at a target to score the most
• Pulling objects up a hill with ropes
• Various mental and arithmetic puzzles

The final escape consisted of bigger, more tougher challenges done in multiple stages where everyone on each team is involved, and whoever wins each stage would get an advantage in the following stage and so on until the final round where the winning team escape the island.

Series overview

Series 1

The first series ran on BBC One from 3 September 2007 to 21 September 2007 and was presented by Caroline Flack and Reggie Yates and filmed in Fernando de Noronha, Brazil.[2][4]

• 10 Adventurers
• 3 Weeks
• 1 Island

Series 2

Series Two premiered on 28 September 2008 on BBC Two and on 3 November 2008 on ABC1. It was hosted by JK and Joel and was filmed in Mission Beach, Queensland, Australia in 2008.

• 1 Island
• 2 Teams (Sting and Claw)
• 10 Captives

Series 3

Series Three premiered on 5 April 2009 on CBBC and on 9 March 2009 on ABC1. It was hosted by JK and Joel and was filmed in Mission Beach, Queensland, Australia in 2008.

• 16 Adventurers
• 3 Teams (Sting, Claw and Venom)
• 1 Island

Series 4

Series Four premiered on 9 August 2010 on CBBC, and on 13 October on ABC3. It was hosted by Myleene Klass and Johny Pitts and was filmed in Tallebudgera Valley, Queensland, Australia in April 2010.

• 10 Adventurers
• 5 Powers (Balance, Bravery, Speed, Strength and Stamina)
• 1 Island

Series 5

Series Five premiered on 11 March 2011 on ABC3. It was hosted by Myleene Klass and Johny Pitts and was filmed in Tallebudgera Valley, Queensland, Australia in April 2010.[5] The series premiered on BBC 2 on 16:05 on 20 May 2011 and concluded on 25 July.

• 10 Adventurers
• 2 Teams (Originally - Boys and Girls) (Final - Sting and Claw)
• 1 Island

References

1. "RDF Television wins children's television event order from the BBC". 22 March 2007. Archived from the original on 7 January 2009. Retrieved 16 November 2008.
2. "Escape from Scorpion Island". ukgameshows.com. Retrieved 16 November 2008.
3. "ABC KIDS Commissions Escape From Scorpion Island". ABC. 2 June 2008. Archived from the original on 22 December 2008. Retrieved 16 November 2008.
4. "Escape from Scorpion Island on DigiGuide". Retrieved 18 September 2007.
5. "ABC2, ABC3, ABC News 24: 2011 slate". 4 December 2010. Retrieved 4 December 2010.

External links

• Escape from Scorpion Island at BBC Programmes
• Escape from Scorpion Island at UKGameshows.com