Can the tough guy cope with one of the planet's toughest environments?
Biography:
Investigative journalist Donal, 45, made his name working undercover, exposing wrong¬doers and law-breakers.
After one award-winning programme about greyhound racing, seven people were convicted of animal cruelty.
Donal won two Royal Television Society Awards for a World In Action film on drug dealing by bouncers.
MacIntyre Undercover delved into football violence, care home abuse, Nigerian conmen, sex slaves and the illegal trade in wild animals. The programme’s greatest triumph was the sentenc¬ing of two Chelsea football hooligans as a direct result of Donal’s secret filming.
No longer able to go un¬dercover, Donal has become a presenter and director, and starred in Dancing On Ice.
Location: Guyana, reduced to five nights after location was flooded.
Q&A:
| Q: |
Why did you decide to take part in the show? |
| Donal: |
As a twin, and then a journalist and now with a family, I’ve never spent more than about an hour alone. So I loved the idea of being alone in a genuine TV experiment where you are abandoned without a crew. Normally I am a news addict and always have the radio on or some sort of white noise! I practically go to bed clutching my iPhone. So the idea of total silence and no gadgets was interesting too. |
Q: |
What did you learn from the experience? |
| Donal |
I love food and I’m overweight at the moment, but I learnt there is a switch in my brain where I can just convince myself I don’t need food. I didn’t want to eat my emergency rations, I wanted to embrace total deprivation, and I actually found it quite euphoric. Something strange and biological happened which was fascinating.
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| Q: |
What did you find the hardest about your experience? |
| Donal: |
The noise and the total dark¬ness. There were trees crash¬ing around me in the storm, and anything could have fallen on me. I felt so vulnerable and I refused to leave my tent to go to the loo at night! I’ve spent time in the wild, and with gangs, I’m a hard bloke, but this was brutal. It’s a bril¬liantly brave piece of TV.
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Survival kit:
Head torch; mosquito repellent; multi-tool; cooking equipment; sun cream; sewing kit; whistle; 1lb farine; 1 litre water; sleeping bag and liner; sunhat with full brim; plastic lighter; small water bottle; waterproofs; multi-vita¬mins; superglue; toilet paper; toiletries; iodine; anti-malaria medicine.
NEXT: MEET CHRIS RYAN
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