Lincoln accountant ‘feels like a winner’ in E4 naked TV challenge

Lincoln man Ryan Blake said he still feels like a winner despite not finishing in the top spot in E4’s ‘Naked, Alone and Racing To Get Home’.

The first episode of the new adventure competition series aired on Wednesday, October 6. The show, which is produced by Avalon, sees two pairs of strangers stripped of their clothes and possessions before they race in the buff across the countryside to win a cash prize of £5,000 for charity.

Ryan, 23, who is training to be an accountant, was paired with model Chrissie and said the experience changed his perspective on life. He wore makeshift body coverings and bin bags, as well as blagging help from locals, during the show.

*Warning of mild censored nudity

Ryan and Chrissie were dropped off in the Yorkshire Dales and left with no gadgets, no money and no clothes…well, except for socks and shoes.

They had to race against life coach Laura and photographer Michael to a mystery location – the statue of Freddie Trueman in Skipton.

He said: “Realistically there is an element of planning and I personally feel they won because they got a better route. It happened to be that their train got in faster than us.

“My perspective on a lot of things has changed as a result, so I feel I have won in many other ways. The amount of drive I had to win was insane, but it is about enjoying the journey, which I now appreciate and will apply to life.”

When asked what the most difficult part of the challenge was, Ryan said it was his team-mate Chrissie. He said: “She did my head in the entire journey… it is what it is.

“There were parts were she helped me and vice versa. She was more of a communicator and better at talking to people. Some parts are influenced by the camera people asking stuff. She was a good team-mate but she did my head in at the same time.

“The walk itself and speaking to people wasn’t that hard, but finding our bearings was difficult and we made some simple mistakes. The reality is when you have a big camera crew behind you the people you approach know it is for TV.

*Warning of mild censored nudity

‘Naked, Alone and Racing To Get Home’

Escaping the mountain was the first task, with Ryan taking charge of his team with the simple strategy of ‘head downhill’. Chrissie said early on “god, I hate you already”.

After finding a road, the duo try to stop traffic for more than an hour. As night approaches, they stumble across a small house and manage to blag a barn to sleep in, where they are given blankets and microwave meals.

Chrissie said it was the “craziest day of my entire life” and also appreciated Ryan’s leadership skills adding “it’s a good team even though we’ve bickered most of the way”.

The duo disagree about which way to go next, but in the end follow the road as Chrissie suggested, wearing makeshift clothes to cover their private areas which they made at the barn.

Ryan and Chrissie had opened up a big lead and managed to get sandwiches and snacks after venturing into a local farm. They are donated a tent to sleep in before getting a free bus ride the next day, thanks to the generosity of kind locals.

With Laura and Michael managing to get a free train ride, there is then only a few minutes of difference between the two teams.

As they race for the finish line, Ryan said “F**k me, if we lose it’s your fault”, but they were beaten in the end by around 10 to 15 minutes by Laura and Michael.

The show was executive produced by Jay Taylor and Jamie Isaacs. Jay told The Lincolnite: “We were delighted and very impressed with the determination and ingenuity of all the contestants in the show.

“Ryan in particular showed huge will to win and great ability to overcome the challenges faced in this unique show. It was amazing to witness their journey and a pleasure to film it.”

After the show’s launch party in Camden on Wednesday night, Ryan feels he may stand a better chance of appearing on Channel 4’s Hunted in the future, but is now focusing on his career as a trainee accountant. He added: “Everyone at the party was loving the show and I’ve had fantastic reactions from everyone at home.”