First look at The Island with Bear Gyrlls ahead of its return TONIGHT

Here’s a first dramatic look at the new series of The Island with Bear Gyrlls.

The Island returns for 2018 with a fifth series on Channel 4 tonight (Monday, April 2).

A total of 16 contestants are sent to live an uninhabited pacific island with just the clothes on their back and a few basic survival tools.

As always, they’ll be filming everything that happens themselves as they try to survive for five weeks.

In a new twist for this year, contestants have been split into two groups based on their wages.

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One group earns an average of £100,000 a year while the other takes home less than the national average.

It follows splits in past series between old and young groups and male and female groups.

“In a world where money has no meaning, who will survive?” asks Bear Grylls.

The series sets out to look at the issue of wealth disparity, and whether living with vastly different economic circumstances at home has an influence on our ability to cope in the wild.

When challenged to start again from nothing, who is better equipped to thrive?

The 16 Islanders face extreme tropical weather, limited resources and environmental hazards – with none of the home comforts everyone relies upon.

In tonight’s opening episode, In the first episode, Bear drops the castaways in caiman-infested mangroves and deep water.

The two teams soon meet, and it quickly becomes clear that the island isn’t their biggest challenge, as the prospect of living together kickstarts a class war.

“In 21st century Britain, money is king,” Bear says.

“And the divide between the haves and have nots is getting bigger by the day. But do wealth and privilege shape who we really are?” he continues.

The Island With Bear Grylls, Monday night, 9pm, Channel 4.

The new series will run for five episodes.