Online stars join comedy survival series

Russell Kane's comedy survival series is to be called Stupid Man, Smart Phone, the BBC has announced.

Last month Chortle broke the news that the comedian was being sent to the ends of the Earth for the show, with only his mobile phone for help.

In each of the six episodes of Stupid Man, Smart Phone, Kane will be joined by a different online star to navigate the landscape, despite having no survival skills or knowledge of the local language or customs.

They include married couple Rose and Rosie heading to the Arctic Circle and Vine star Arron Crascall going into the African desert.

Other locations will be an Eastern European forest, a South American desert island, the Italian Dolomites and a rain forest in Costa Rica.

Kane said: 'In life, I independently Googled my way from council estate to degree in English – and the internet's about to save my soul again.

'It'll keep me warm. It'll teach me to hunt and survive. Plus, I'm taking along online superstars who can access millions of knowledgeable followers! Okay, maybe SOME of their followers are 12-year-old girls, but still, I intend to win and outsmart nature.'

The show is being made for the online BBC Three and BBC Brit, a subscription TV channel currently available in Poland, the Nordic countries and South Africa.

It is co-produced by Objective and Kalel Productions, whose chief executive Nick Parnes, said: 'Mashing the comedy and survival genres feels really different, and marrying a traditional TV comedian with different social media superstars every week in completely diverse, dangerous environments is a new concept, too…We're breaking new ground over here! I hope it works and their phone brings them home safely.'

Published: 10 Dec 2015