'Castaway' island is tourist haven

Reality show Castaway has been accused of becoming like Big Brother, based on an island that attracts tourists and lasting just three months.

The original BBC series saw a group live self-sufficiently on Taransay, an uninhabited Hebridean island. The latest series, which began last week, is on the New Zealand island of Great Barrier.

Now The Mail on Sunday has questioned its authenticity having discovered the island has a population of 700, is served by two international airlines and houses a busy tourist campsite, a Thai restaurant and an Irish pub.

Ben Barton lives on the island and said it was by no means deserted. "I'm not sure it's the right place for this show. Plenty of people live on Great Barrier," he explained. "We're not completely cut off from the rest of the world. This is all make-believe."

Trevor Kearon, was on the original castaway series, in which he got together with Trish Prater who got pregnant with their daughter Erin during the year away. "The rawness of the original Castaway just isn't there now," he said. "It's a hybrid between Big Brother and Survivor.

"It seems that only controversial characters have been chosen. I was disappointed that it was just for three months, but the characters I have seen would not last a year."

The paper said producers have even had to put up warning notices in an attempt to keep locals and tourists away from the filming. "The film crew are likely to be discouraging campers and asking people to stay away from the beach," they read. "The campground will be affected considerably by night-time lighting, the noise of generators and the movement of people and vehicles."

A BBC spokesman defended the series. "The spirit of the programme this time is very close to the original. It's about getting away from normal life and doing something completely different," he said. "Changes have been made in order to keep the show current. It is a reality show but one we hope viewers will enjoy."