Channel 4 is putting 14 ordinary people from the UK and Australia to the ultimate test in brand new survival series, Apocalypse.
The series, which begins tonight (13 September), drops two unsuspecting groups of strangers into a real, abandoned town, each unaware of the other’s existence.
With no access to electricity, running water or food, the survivors must scavenge, recycle, reuse and reinvent anything they can find to just get by. Split into two rival camps – Eastside and Westside – the groups soon find themselves in direct conflict with one another.
But who are the brave and daring survivors?
Here’s a guide to the contestants taking part in Channel 4’s Apocalypse.
Apocalypse cast: Full line-up
Below is a list of the contestants confirmed to be taking part in Apocalypse.
Eastside:
- Steven McKell
- Kiera Madison
- Bertie Watkins
- Kyra Muzvaba
- Louise Baker
- Scott McMinn
- Laura Powell
Westside:
- Ioan Humphreys
- Freddie Browne
- Brooke McCreaner
- Celia Hibbert
- Matthew Wilson
- Kelly Cartwright
- Dean Sganga
Read on to learn more about the contestants taking part.
Steven McKell
Age: 32
Job: Content creator
Location: Lincoln
Steven is a content creator with a huge TikTok following, where he has built a reputation for finding the joy in dark times.
On why he signed up, he said: “I really wanted to challenge myself in a way that I’d never done before. I also wanted to take part because it sounded wild. Being stuck in an abandoned city for 28 days with no food, no water, no running electricity, I thought, ‘You know what? I can do that.'”
Kiera Madison
Age: 29
Job: Psychologist
Location: NSW, Australia
Kiera is a psychologist and self-described glamorous city girl with no practical skills, hoping to find love at the end of the world.
She said: “Part of it was a joke, and the other part was genuinely wondering whether I could survive in a situation like that. I’ve always thought, if I was kidnapped or stranded somewhere, would I be able to cope? So, I wanted to test myself.”
Bertie Watkins
Age: 34
Job: Theatre director
Location: London
Bertie is a theatre director and self-confessed people hater with a DIY-maestro streak.
“I create immersive experiences for a living and have been for about ten years, and this felt like a chance to take part in it, rather than organising it myself,” he said.
“It’s a bit like being handed an immersive theatre ticket, except all the stress of putting it together is someone else’s problem while you just get to exist inside the apocalypse.”
Kyra Muzvaba
Age: 20
Job: Student nurse
Location: Northamptonshire
Kyra is a student nurse, self-confessed geek and dystopian-fiction fan who is determined not to be underestimated for her age.
She said: “I love post-apocalypse themed shows. I was obsessed with them growing up, like Hunger Games. Also, with my experience of camping and stuff, I don’t know why, but in my head I thought it would be so easy.”
Louise Baker
Age: 43
Job: Mechanic
Location: Birmingham
Louise is a mechanic, DIY guru and single mum who describes herself as “basically Wonder Woman”. “I wanted to take myself out of my comfort zone,” she said.
“I’ve built a nice little life for myself, and I think we take a lot of things for granted day to day, so I wanted to see what would happen if I was stripped right back to nothing to see whether I’d survive, how I’d cope.”
Scott McMinn
Age: 42
Job: Beef farmer
Location: Barongarook, Australia
Scott is a beef farmer and experienced hunter who took part in memory of his late son. “
I just thought it sounded like a really cool thing to do,” he said. “It’s also something my late son would have loved, he was always into that sort of adventure. So I thought I’d go and smash it out for him. Really, I did it for him.”
Laura Powell
Age: 38
Job: Paramedic
Location: Bristol
Laura is a lively, warm-hearted paramedic and single mum. “It wasn’t really something I’d ever considered doing, particularly not at this stage of my life, when I’m busy with my career and busy being a mum,” she said.
“It was a bit of a crossroads in my life, and I thought, why not pull the rug out from under my own feet again and survive an apocalypse. So, I went for it, and it all happened very quickly.”
Ioan Humphreys
Age: 32
Job: Farmer
Location: Wales
Ioan is a farmer described as a big, friendly giant, who took on the family farm aged just 20. “I’m a farmer from the middle of Wales, so first off, a city is uncomfortable for me,” he said.
“I haven’t got Uber Eats or Deliveroo, or even Uber taxis. My nearest train station’s half an hour away, my closest hospital is over an hour away. I live in the middle of nowhere. We have power cuts all the time. There was more stuff in the Apocalypse than at my house in Wales, I think.”
Freddie Browne
Age: 30
Job: Event emcee
Location: London
Freddie is an event emcee and social media personality with years of hunting experience, and is best known to viewers as a Made in Chelsea cast member, appearing from series 17 to series 20 between 2019 and 2020.
“I entered the apocalypse off the back of two gin and tonics, and it was the best decision I ever made,” he said. “I needed to prove that I didn’t need my air fryer or Mountain Pine Bath Essence. I was right, but I did miss them.”
Brooke McCreaner
Age: 42
Job: London black cab driver
Location: London
Brooke is a London black cab driver who hopes that having The Knowledge will help her quickly get her bearings in a new town. “I like to push myself and I like to go out of the kind of norm,” she said.
“It was the social side for me, as a black cab driver, I work by myself, passengers get in and go, so I wanted to see if I could be part of a team.”
Celia Hibbert
Age: 43
Job: Politician and local councillor
Location: Wolverhampton
Celia is a politician and local councillor who grew up in rural Nigeria without consistent electricity or running water.
“Firstly, I heard it was going to be challenging, and secondly, I heard it was going to be something extraordinary that I haven’t done before,” she said. “I like adventure, but I also like challenge, and I like being outside my comfort zone. This ticked all the boxes.”
Matthew Wilson
Age: 33
Job: Diesel mechanic
Location: Perth, Australia
Matthew, known as Matty, is a diesel mechanic and ex-soldier who is used to being in the middle of nowhere.
“For me, it was every guy’s dream,” he said. “I feel like every guy has this daydream of what they would do in the apocalypse. Everyone has some sort of plan they’ve run through in their head. For me it felt like preparation for potential future events.”
Kelly Cartwright
Age: 37
Job: Paralympian
Location: Geelong, Australia
Kelly is a gold medal-winning Paralympian, an Order of Australia Medal recipient and a mother of three. She won gold in the women’s long jump at the 2012 London Paralympics, setting a world record, and took silver in the 100m, before being awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia in the 2014 Australia Day Honours.
“I just love pushing myself past what I think I’m capable of,” she said. “I guess I like proving myself wrong, and I love adventure. I hadn’t set myself any real challenges since competing at the Paralympic Games, so I think I needed to show myself I was still capable of pushing those boundaries.”
Dean Sganga
Age: 30
Job: Chef
Location: NSW, Australia
Dean is a chef who has been cooking since he was 13, and a self-confessed master manipulator.
“I just like new experiences,” he said. “Most of my life has been seasonal work, moving from one thing to the next, and this just looked like something a bit silly and fun to do. In that sense, I’ve been preparing for something like this my whole life.”
Apocalypse begins on Sunday 13 September at 9pm on Channel 4.
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