Shattered: legacy of a reality TV experiment in extreme sleep deprivation

The prize was £100,000. Purported risks included depression and hallucinations. Channel 4’s probably couldn’t be made today – but almost 15 years later do the contestants regret taking part?

Almost 15 years ago, 10 young people were tortured in an abandoned shopping centre in east London on live TV. They were contestants on the reality show Shattered, competing to stay awake as long as possible in order to win a £100,000 cash prize. After 178 hours of sleep deprivation, Clare Southern (now Clare Farah), a 19-year-old police cadet nicknamed “the Terminator”, scooped a £97,000 prize pot. (It had originally stood at £100,000, but deductions were made every time contestants fell asleep.)

Viewers complained to Ofcom about the show’s premise and the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy described the show as “misconceived and dangerous”, pointing out that American DJ Peter Tripp had a breakdown after he stayed awake for a world record 201 hours in 1959.

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from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2NLElcA