Shipwrecked 2019 had a rocky start in the ratings last night, with its first episode drawing fewer than 300,000 viewers.
E4 has revived the classic reality show after seven years off air, and brought back its ‘Battle of the Islands’ format, which was last used a decade ago.
The channel has made Shipwrecked its centrepiece show, scheduling it every weeknight for three weeks and promoting it with an extensive advertising campaign.
However, the hype failed to translate in to ratings success for its launch last night.
The first episode attracted just 282,000 viewers (a 1.4% share of the audience), including those who tuned in on E4+1.
This number is down 57,000 viewers on the launch of the last series in 2011, despite the lengthy break.
It is also down 100,000 viewers on E4’s Monday 9pm timeslot average.
Early reaction from viewers has been mixed, with producers facing criticism for making things too easy for the contestants.
While past series saw castaways having to construct their own shelters, this year’s group arrived to find their camps had been built for them.
“The new Shipwrecked has nothing on the original! Why the hell do they have a ready made shelter?” wrote one viewer on Twitter.
“Now everything is done/built for them, what are they actually going to be doing?” wondered another.
Comparisons to Love Island inevitably followed, with some fans suggesting the revamp is pandering to its ITV2 rival’s sizeable audience.
“Shipwrecked really sold out to the Love Island crowd didn’t it?” argued one tweeter.
Shipwrecked’s new narrator Vick Hope has brushed off any resemblances, insisting it is more about “finding your tribe” than coupling up.
The show continues tonight at 9.00pm on E4.