The Alone Australia winner Gina Chick has opened up about her time in the Tasmanian wilderness, including her concerns leading into isolation and how she really got on. Producers from ITV and SBS also reveal what it was like to hand over complete control of the content to contestants.
For most mere mortals, the thought of surviving in the Aussie bush for more than two months alone would send shudders down the spine due to the harsh weather conditions and our endless conveyor belt of wildlife (read: snakes and spiders) that can bite, sting and even kill you.
But for 52-year-old rewilding facilitator Gina Chick, Australia’s infamous wildlife was the least of her concerns.
“Probably my only fear with the whole thing was being trolled,” Chick said to a packed auditorium on Day one of Cannes in Cairns, presented by Pinterest.
“It’s not like we have bears or cougars that can eat me (as they do in the US version of Alone). Yes, we have tiger snakes [and] I did come across a tiger snake that I desperately wanted to eat.
“I have no control about what how I get portrayed, and I have no control about what goes out there. And I’ve seen how vicious social media can be about everyone, all of those armchair warriors.
“There was a bit of terror about about being trolled and exposing myself. So that’s why it’s just been an absolute revelation how much genuine love has been coming my way since the show dropped.”
Chick, pictured above, survived in the Tasmanian wilderness for 67 days and won by virtue of second last contestant Mike Atkinson was medically evacuated.
She charmed Aussie TV audiences with her authenticity – she took a ‘vow of voracity’ to only speak the truth and not perform for the cameras – and some of the more moving moments, such as grieving about her daughter, and quirky humours moments, such as liking a tree that ‘tasted like sugar’.
“Vulnerability is the real reason we watch,” she said. “Underneath, all humans bleed, love, rage, grieve. In a perfect Barbie-produced world, where do we get to see something we know is true?
“When we see true unscripted vulnerability we connect, and that is what we yearn for most deeply. Connection. And not to feel alone.”
SBS’ Joseph Maxwell, ITV’s Beth Hart, Gina Chick and Sofia Geraghty discuss the benefits of letting go of creative control.
Chick shared her insights on a panel discussion with ITV Studios chief content officer Beth Hart, SBS head of unscripted Joseph Maxwell that was hosted by B&T’s Sofia Geraghty.
She said that contestants were put through a one week survival bootcamp ahead of filming where they were told that their primary focus, aside from survival, was to film and document their time alone.
Chick said: “We were told, ‘you there to make a doco. You’re telling a story, so think about what story do you want to tell. You have complete freedom.
“I made a vow of veracity. Tell the truth, keep cameras rolling no matter how gritty or dark or crazy. Because I trust SBS and ITV to let me tell my story, and not edit me into a failed knuckle dragging survivalist.”
For most TV producers, letting go of control of the script and storytelling is a nightmare scenario.
“I make a huge amount of different types of television from The Voice to I’m A Celebrity, The Chase and Love Island – things that couldn’t be more different to Alone,” Hart said.
“Giving up control is the last thing you ever want to do as a reality TV producer, because what you want to do is keep everybody apart, and then put all of them together and see what happens while you watch and help to sort of control it unfold.
“Here what you do is that they’re all hanging out in bootcamp. And then you send them off and you can’t see them and you can’t hear them. So we’ve given up all of our control and that is terrifying, but the results were amazing.”
A trojan horse
Maxwell said that what made the show appealing is that although its a show about survival, it tackles a lot of other authentic human challenges.
“What I love about this is it’s amazing Trojan horse where we suddenly have a really powerful piece of PTSD, or on grief, or on body image. It’s about what people’s stories they want to tell and I think there’s a huge power to that,” he said.
Alone Australia reached 5.4 million Australians and attracted the broadcaster’s biggest ever catch up audiences on its BVOD SBS On Demand. It’s also being viewed internally as a bellwether to how TV will viewed in the future.
Maxwell admitted to being “terrified” about the first ratings report after the show launched.
“What was really fascinating was the ratings came out and they were good. But what was extraordinary was it wasn’t being viewed necessarily at that time. More than 50 per cent of the audience ended up watching it on on demand,” he said.
“Most of our shows are about 80 per cent linear and about 20 per cent On Demand. And this is obviously what the future (of TV viewing) is all about.
“I don’t think other networks would have taken a risk on a show with no control, a lower budget, no filming timeline and not knowing what the cast are going to do. We’re very lucky to be a broadcaster who’s able to take that risk for a purpose.”
Alone Australia may have filled Chick and SBS with fear about how they were going to be portrayed for a show that cedes control to amateur filmmakers and exposes human vulnerability in the most unforgiving and authentic way.
But much like the West Tasmanian wilderness, they unearthed a gem of a program teeming with raw, unfiltered beauty, and emotion, and the Australian public loves it.
