PLANNERS have given permission for a TV show in the Scottish wilderness to have a second series – even though viewers have complained they have seen little of the first one.
There have been only four episodes of Eden so far – and Channel 4 does not know when the next one will be shown, though it has started showing trailers for the show on television.
The makers of Eden applied in November for planning permission to continue using the remote site for a second series.
Now Highland Council has granted approval under delegated powers.
So far, at least eight of the 23 participants in the current programme have left before the end of the year-long “unique social experiment”.
The last episode was shown on August 8 after first airing on July 18. Filming began on a remote part of Inverness-shire in March.
But production company Keo Films applied to Highland Council to allow continuation of change of use to film for a further year, to September 2018.
That will mean continuing the removal of the public right of access to part of the Ardnamurchan Estate for the show which has caused local controversy, with some residents believing it is good for tourism and others concerned about its effect on a sensitive protected environment.
Agents Bidwells, on behalf of KEO Films, said the first series generated an average weekly viewership of more than 1.7 million, between “live” viewers and those using catch-up services.
“It is this success that our client wishes to build upon,” it said in its documents.
“KEO Films is seeking to continue to produce a channel defining factual series that challenges how the viewers live today and celebrates the Scottish countryside that the contributors will be living in.
“Our client is looking to cast a new group of contributors to undertake a similar community building documentary programme as shown in the first series.”
Eight of the original group have left the programme, including the camp’s two doctors, the paramedic and the fisherman.
The mass exodus has called into quesetion the future of the radical television project, due to run until next spring.
A Channel 4 spokesman said the application by Keo Films “was purely speculative”. He added: “I’m not able to confirm a second series at this time.”
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