Kevin McCloud's Escape to the Wild, Channel 4 - TV review: A sobering reality-check for desk-bound daydreamers

Kevin met an intrepid couple living on a small island in the South Pacific with their three young children

Kevin McCloud's Escape to the Wild kicked off with an impressively intrepid couple

If you thought Kevin McCloud could be derisive about a poorly planned kitchen extension, you should see him let loose on the British families who've uprooted their comfortable suburban existences to set up new homes in the middle of nowhere.

Kevin McCloud's Escape to the Wild kicked off with an impressively intrepid couple living on a 1km-across island in the South Pacific with their three young sons. It's a place so remote, it took McCloud five days of travelling to reach them, but the sight of their incredible, Thunderbirds lair-like home, jutting out over the coastline made it all worthwhile.

The show was a tribute to those who have the energy to really make a go of their great escape, but also a sobering reality-check for the majority of desk-bound daydreamers. It's challenging enough to build your own home in the UK; imagine if the building materials were limited to some coral and a few palm trees.