The thrill of being chased: A crack team of investigators try to track down ten fugitives in a new series of nail-biting reality show Hunted

  • Hunted is set to return with ten people running from a team of elite investigators
  • Contestants are given the goal of not being caught within 25 days
  • Each is given £50 cash, a bank card and access to a further £50  
  • Royal Marines commando Matt Mason, 29, has been studying previous shows
  • The contestant plans to not leave a digital footprint at all unless in an emergency

The tension is palpable from the start in the fourth series of Hunted, Channel 4’s addictive reality show that sees ten members of the public go on the run from an elite team of investigators.

A helicopter is circling overhead as the ten fugitives arrive by boat at Liverpool docks, the start point. 

The contestants, who range from a former serial criminal to a Royal Marines commando, an Essex banker and an architecture student, immediately go on the run. 

But the investigators are a whisker away from catching one of them within minutes; a bright-yellow jumper, it turns out, is not the best attire for hiding in.

The aim for the fugitives, who will work either alone or in pairs, in the BAFTA-nominated show, is not to be caught for 25 days. 

Channel 4's BAFTA nominated show Hunted returns to screens with Hunters Zoe, Peter and Ben (pictured) searching for ten contestants who have the goal of hiding for 25 days

Channel 4's BAFTA nominated show Hunted returns to screens with Hunters Zoe, Peter and Ben (pictured) searching for ten contestants who have the goal of hiding for 25 days

Each has £50 in cash, a bank card with access to a further £50 and a cameraman who discreetly follows their every move. 

The rules of the game are simple – go anywhere in the UK but stay hidden for as long as possible, avoiding Britain’s six million CCTV cameras and the hunters’ drones and sniffer dogs. 

A team of elite investigators – led by former undercover detective Peter Bleksley and including surveillance expert Ben Owen and intelligence specialist Zoe Spinner – are on their tail, examining CCTV footage, phone records and bank transactions and quizzing friends and family. 

The contestants who succeed will share a £100,000 prize.

Matt Mason, 29, from Devon, a Royal Marines commando with three tours of Afghanistan under his belt, is quietly confident. 

‘Success or failure is in your own hands,’ says Matt, who’s hoping to win the money after becoming a father.

‘I’m going to go completely rural and stay away from CCTV. Being able to hide out is part of my job, and that’ll give me an edge.’

He believes he’s learned lessons from watching the previous shows. 

‘The decisions I’m going to be making will be very calculated,’ he says. 

‘I won’t hitchhike with people I don’t know – you don’t know their background or whether you can rely on them. 

'And unless it’s an utter emergency I won’t be using any mobile devices or leaving any form of digital footprint at all.’

Architecture student Nathanael Watt, 26, and his pal Ishmail Haruna, 27, both from Nottingham, are hoping taking part will wean them off their social media addictions.

This series's contestants include Royal Marines commando Matt Mason, 29, (pictured) who hopes to win the money after becoming a father
Nurses Emma Davidson, 23, and Jess Kirkham, 27 (pictured) are taking part in the show to prove they 'can be bad girls'

This series's contestants include Royal Marines commando Matt Mason, 29, (pictured left) and nurses Emma Davidson, 23, and Jess Kirkham, 27 (pictured right)

‘My generation has grown up with phones in their hands like an extra limb,’ says Ishmail. 

‘Being on it all the time causes anxiety, staying off it means we might find more peace. We’re confident, but we know that can make you overlook simple mistakes.’

Other contestants include Essex banker Loren Hannon, 26 – she of the yellow jumper – who thinks it’ll be ‘fun’. 

There’s gay drama student Harry Savage, 20, who’s on the show with his brother Frank, 23, to change stereotypes about gay men, while nurses Emma Davidson, 23, and Jess Kirkham, 27, want to prove they ‘can be bad girls too’.

And finally there’s former petty criminal turned youth worker Nick Batchelor, 51, and his friend, construction manager Paul James, 48. 

Ten years after turning his life around, Nick now works with the police, the church and charities to stop others turning to crime. 

He’s doing the show to challenge himself. ‘It’ll be a totally different experience,’ he says. 

‘We’ll be using our common sense – I’ve rarely seen that on the show. I think we can outsmart the hunters.’  

Hunted starts on Thursday 10 January at 9pm on Channel 4.

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