Eden: New Channel 4 survival show criticised for being 'too easy' and a 'middle-class Love Island'

'Every irritating person you ever met who went travelling to ‘find themselves’ is on this show'

Having created the hit show The Island, Bear Grylls decided to take things a bit further with Eden: instead of a dozen people being left on an island in the pacific for over a month, 23 strangers were left in the Scottish wilderness to start over again.

Unfortunately, despite being billed as a harsh survival programme that would test people to the limits, viewers found the show to be far ‘too easy’.

In the first episode, chef Stephen and yoga instructor Jasmine ended up in the same hammock, leading to accusations of being like ‘middle-class Love Island’ and ‘Hipster Big Brother’.

“On Eden, they've started COMPLETELY ‘from scratch’. Apart of [sic] the tools, weapons, food, clothes, animals, shelter & condoms they were given…” wrote one angered viewer.

Another added: “Every irritating person you ever met who went travelling to ‘find themselves’ is on this bleeding island.”

The participants of Eden, aged 24 to 55, will remain in the wilderness for a year, relying on each other for food, shelter, and company. They have no access to TV, internet, news, etc.

Series editor Liz Foley said of the people having relationships on the programme: “If someone falls in love, I am much more interested in that than people having sex.”

A spokesperson for Channel 4 issued a statement reading: “What they do and how they do it is up to them. The series will follow the groups’ journey as they debate their own rules and laws, decide if they want to live together or separately, accept majority decisions or do as each of them pleases.

“Over 12 months, how will they work together to build their own shelter, grow their own food and raise their own livestock?

“The series aims to challenge everything about modern living, raising questions about what we need to be happy, what we want from our communities and how we are influenced by society as a whole.”

Eden will continue next Monday at 9pm.