Treasure Island with Bear Grylls start time, spoilers and new prize money twist

The Island with Bear Grylls in 2019 is back with a brand new name: Treasure Island.

From Treasure Island’s start date to all about this year’s changes – here’s all you need to know.

The Island sees a cast of contestants sent to live on a remote pacific island with just the clothes they stand up in, basic training and a few tools. They film everything themselves, in a bid to survive six weeks on The Island.

This year will be sixth series to air on Channel 4 and brings some changes.

When is The Island with Bear Grylls back on TV?

For 2019, The Island with Bear Grylls has become Treasure Island.

The series starts TONIGHT at 9PM on Channel 4, Sunday 8th September.

You’ll be able to watch episodes online and catch up on All4.

What is Treasure Island about?

Over the years The Island has featured an array of different set ups. When the show first hit our screens, fourteen men were left to fend for themselves without modern luxuries. The second run then saw men and women taking on the challenge, but living separately on different islands.

The third series was the first to feature a mix of genders together, 2017’s show involved contestants split by their age with an ‘older’ and ‘younger’ group while last year’s cast was made up of groups of ‘rich’ and ‘poor’ contestants.

For 2019, the series has seen money become directly involved with a £100,000 prize in what has been named ‘Treasure Island With Bear Grylls’.

The money is hidden across The Island but there’s a catch: If contestants leave early, they must leave empty-handed. Only those who make it to the very end, can keep their share of any loot they find.

Bear Grylls said: “This is something I’ve wanted to do with the show for a while. It’s been a natural evolution, you know? With season one the whole premise was just totally original, then we’ve gone through so many of the big things in society that are powerful and relevant for people, from ageism to wealth to gender and this was the last one that we purposefully, I personally, held back until now.

“But we always knew, it’s such a powerful force in all of our lives and it can have such pull for good and bad that once we introduced this it would be a whole new level.

“It feels like it’s happening at the right time, having done these other angles on the show before, but this one was always going to be a crowning glory really. What happened was amazing, it really was.”

Treasure Island spoilers

In tonight’s opening episode, in just the clothes on their back, with a day’s supply of water and a few basic tools, the group are abandoned on the treacherous south east side of the island.

They are immediately confronted with their first big decision when a helicopter flies overhead and parachutes a box of cash on the north shore. Do the group chase the money or try to make camp? With the tide rising fast and just a few hours of daylight remaining, ex-marine Marco takes the lead.

But with 75-year-old retired florist Irene struggling, the group quickly become stuck in the mangrove swamp trying to beat a path inland. While brain surgeon Mano is keen for the group to settle, the priority for some is to find the money, as a splinter group heads off on a trek in 40 degree heat.

If they find the cash, will they share it with the rest of the group, or secretly hide it and keep it for themselves?

Before the new series launches, you can catch up on all past episodes via All4.

There’s also all-star series Celebrity Island which supports Stand Up To Cancer.