A REMOTE beach on the Ardnamurchan peninsula has been revealed as the setting for a new reality show testing the survival limits of a group of strangers.

The remote Cul na Croise Bay, near Acharacle, is the location of Channel 4's new big budget series, Eden, which will see a group of men and women fend for themselves for a year.

The 24 men and women will be filmed round the clock and will be expected to be self-sufficient, hunting for food and growing their own crops.

They will also be expected to build their own shelter, coming up against the extremes of the Scottish weather when the programme begins in March.

The isolated area can only be reached on foot and was used by the Ministry of Defence for training during the Second World War, though it has been uninhabited for more than two centuries and is surrounded by a large evergreen forest.

KEO films, commissioned by Channel 4, asked Highland Council for a rare exemption from 'right to roam' land access rules so that a secure fence could be put up around the perimeter.

The broadcaster is said to still be actively looking for participants for the show, looking for "fishermen to foragers, builders to botanists, engineers to entertainers. Or simply those who seek adventure or escape."

A spokesman said: "With no prescribed infrastructure the group will be given the basics needed to kick start their experience relying on the abundant natural resources and whatever they can scavenge.

"The series will challenge everything about modern living, raising questions about what we want and need from our communities and how this could shape our belief in society as a whole."

Donald Houston, who owns the Ardnamurchan Estate, said: "The film company first approached us around 18 months ago. We laughed and thought they were completely mad at first, as we know how challenging the landscape is around here and it seemed impossible people could survive out on their own.

"However, the company do appear to have planned it all well and they are confident that it will work and make very interesting television.

"I am looking forward to watching how the group interact and come together to work out their priorities when they arrive. It will be about seeing who can manage and who struggles and how the community forms."

Previously, the BBC's Castaway series in 2000 was a pioneer of the genre, when a group of 36 men, women and children signed up to be marooned on the tiny Hebridean island of Taransay for a year and is credited for launching the TV career of broadcaster Ben Fogle.