Sunderland woman talks about her time on The Island with Bear Grylls

A Sunderland woman says viewers can look forward to more fun and games while she braves the wilds on The Island.
Sammy Day.Sammy Day.
Sammy Day.

Sammy Day is one of the contestants currently taking part in the latest Channel 4 series of The Island with Bear Grylls.

The first episode was aired on Monday and Sammy said she has had a lot of support from all her friends and family on Wearside and further afield.

Sammy Day with her partner, Sam Covele-Rose.Sammy Day with her partner, Sam Covele-Rose.
Sammy Day with her partner, Sam Covele-Rose.
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The former Castle View Academy student, said: “I have had some very positive feedback and people seem to like me, but then again I might start to annoy them.”

This year there is a twist in the show with the two groups of eight coming from very different backgrounds.

One group is made up of wealthy professionals all earning more than £100,000 a year and the other group, which Sammy is in, is made up of people who earn below the UK national average.

Sammy, 24, said even she was surprised at how big the divide seemed when she watched the show for the first time when it was aired.

Sammy Day, second left, with the rest of her group in The Island with Bear Grylls.Sammy Day, second left, with the rest of her group in The Island with Bear Grylls.
Sammy Day, second left, with the rest of her group in The Island with Bear Grylls.
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She said: “I was taken aback, when I heard some of the things that were said. But, It is just the first episode and I think people will see a lot of changes.

“Some people came across different to how they really are, but others are exactly the same as they were shown.”

Although, she couldn’t give too much away, Sammy said she has made some firm friends from filming the show at the end of last year, and they are not all from the group she started off in.

The Island with Bear Grylls sees the host abandoning ordinary Britons to take care of themselves on an uninhabited islands in the Pacific.

Sammy Day on her graduation day.Sammy Day on her graduation day.
Sammy Day on her graduation day.
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All the contestants are armed only with some survival training, the clothes they stand up in, filming equipment, medical supplies, some basic tools and fishing equipment, and enough water for 24 hours.

Sammy, who recently finished her Masters degree in Business Psychology, said: “When you are there you just have to get on with things. You forget about the sort of life you usually have.

“I didn’t realise how really, really bad it was living on the island until I got home.”

Sammy said all her family and friends are hugely proud of her for taking part.

Island time with Bear Grylls.Island time with Bear Grylls.
Island time with Bear Grylls.

She said: “They are so proud and over the moon.

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“We are not a family who swear in front of each other, so I was worried because my nana would be watching it and I was swearing, but it was fine.

“I did cringe all the way through the episode because I hated hearing my own voice. I didn’t realise I sounded so northen.

“But, that’s who I am, I am a working class northern lass. I am who I am.”

The Wearsiders think viewers will enjoy the up coming episodes.

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She said: “I think viewers are going to be in for some fun. They were all characters on there and I think there is someone that everyone can relate to.”

The Island with Bear Grylls is screened on Monday, at 9pm on Channel 4.