Last Man Standing and latterly Last Woman Standing (known in the United States as Last One Standing and also known by the Discovery Channel title of Six Versus the World) is a BBC reality TV show that was first aired on 26 June 2007. Each series featured a group of athletic individuals travelling around the globe to take part in different tribal or traditional sports. Whoever physically outperforms the rest in the most challenges is declared the winner.

Series 1 was narrated by Richard Hammond, with series 2 being narrated by Ralf Little.

First Last Man Standing: Jason Bennett from the United States

Second Last Man Standing: Wolé Adesemoye from the United Kingdom

The Last Woman Standing: Anna Campbell from Lamu, Kenya

Format Each episode begins with the contestants being introduced to a new indigenous society, meeting the local elder or head man. The contestants are introduced to the sport they will be competing in. They must board and eat with the villagers, and help out with village chores while being trained by the villagers, both for general fitness, and in techniques required for the particular sport. Competitors often undertake local rituals or traditions, such as ceremonial dancing, the wearing of tribal clothing, body painting, medicinal treatments, ritual tests of strength or courage, and the offering up of prayers or offerings to local gods or spirits.

Contestants are usually split into two camps within the village, with two trainers. Contestants then train against local villagers. Some episodes feature an initial elimination stage, whereby only the contestants who have sufficiently impressed their trainer are allowed to actually compete in the sport proper, usually a local showpiece event or competition, a regional competition, or a contest against a neighbouring village.

For certain sports, the contestants were split into weight categories, such as wrestling. In the final competition phase, the winner for that week is the contestant who performed the best in the actual competition format, usually either progressing furthest in an individual knockout contest, winning a race, or scoring the most individually in a team sport such as Trobriand Cricket. Any draws are then settled with a vote by the local trainers.

Series one The first series of the programme consisted of eight episodes produced by the BBC and premiered in the UK on BBC Three from 26 June to 14 August 2007. It was later shown on the more mainstream BBC Two from 2 March to 26 April 2008. Also, that season was translated in French and aired in Québec, Canada as Le Dernier Combattant (The Last Fighter) on Canal D. The Discovery Channel showed the programme as Last One Standing, starting on 4 October 2007. Discovery produced an extra four episodes for the American run (Kraho Log Running, Andean Ice Race, Java Martial Arts, and Vanuatu Canoe Race). All twelve episodes have run on BBC America as Last Man Standing but the four Discovery-produced episodes have not yet been shown in the UK. Despite this, both series had the same winner: With Brad, Jason and Rajko tied for first place (with 2 wins each in the UK version and 3 wins each in the US version), the competitors vote for Jason as the overall winner.

Contestants Name From Discipline Events won(UK Series) Events won(US Series)Bradley Johnson United StatesOklahomaStrongman 2 3Corey Rennell United StatesAlaskaOutdoorsman 0 0Jason Bennett United StatesFloridaBMX racer and Tree surgeon 2 3Mark Hoban United KingdomBirminghamKickboxing and Salsa Dance 1 1Rajko Radovic United KingdomMiddlesexFitness Guru 2 3Richard Massey United KingdomOxfordCricket and Rugby 1 2

Episodes Week 1: Kalapalo Wrestling – Brazil Winner: Brad

Week 2: Zulu Stick Fighting – South Africa Winner: Mark

Week 3: Tarahumara Endurance Running – Mexico Winner: Rajko

Week 4: Sümi Kick Fighting – India Winner: Jason

Week 5: Mongolian wrestling – Mongolia Winner: Brad

Week 6: Trobriand Cricket – Papua New Guinea Winner: Rajko

Week 7: Wolof Wrestling – Senegal Winner: Richard

Week 8: Sepik Canoe Racing – Papua New Guinea Winner: Jason (also named overall winner for British airings)

Week 9: Kraho Log Running – Brazil Winner: Rajko

Week 10: Andean Ice Race – Peru Winner: Richard

Week 11: Pencak Silat – Indonesia Winner: Brad

Week 12: Vanuatu Canoe Race – Vanuatu Winner: Jason (also named overall winner for American airings)

Series two Series 2 of Last Man Standing began airing in the UK on BBC Three on 14 October 2008. The overall winner was Wolé, since his win in the final competition was deemed the deciding factor in the draw which ensued, with Ed also having attained 3 wins.

Contestants

Name Age From Discipline Events wonEd Donati 22 United KingdomLondonModern pentathlon 3Jarvis Albury 23 United StatesSan Diego Rugby 0Jeremy "JJ" James 21 United StatesFlorida Submission wrestling 2Joey Ricely 24 United StatesChicago Football 1Murray Smith 22 United KingdomDevon Kitesurfing 1Wolé Adesemoye 27 United KingdomLondon Boxing 3

Episodes Week 1: Suri Stick fighting – Ethiopia Winner: Wolé The first episode involved stick fighting with a stick, called the Donga. Officially, the only way to win is to either make your opponent bleed from the head or feet, or simply give up. However the Suri changed the rules for the contestants and also decided that they would fight amongst themselves to make it safer. Jarvis falls ill and is too weak to begin training which forces him to bow out. After a couple of days practising Wolé, Ed and surprisingly Murray are judged good enough to fight. The three competitors fight in a round robin competition where each contestant fights each other. In the first fight Wolé fights Murray and wins, despite Wolé landing a head shot against Murray which is against the rules for this competition. In the second fight Murray, needing a win to become the overall winner, fights Ed but only manages a draw. The third and final fight sees Wolé and Ed battle to win the overall competition. Controversially the fight is deemed a draw much to the surprise of Ed and the other competitors especially since Ed had already been handed a flag to signify his victory. This means that Wolé wins the overall competition for the first week.

Week 2: Samo wrestling in Burkina Faso Winner: Joey Samo wrestling is highly physical and energy sapping, one wrong step swiftly results in smashing to the ground. One week two the boys travel to Burkina Faso in Africa to compete in a Samo wrestling tournament. They compete for a village called Nyon in a local Samo tournament and represented the village. Nyon's trainer is former Samowrestling champion Francois, Wolé and Jarvis impress in the initial training bouts but Ed reveals that he has been injured and is forced to pull out rather than risk serious damage so we're down to five. Francois takes Jarvis and Joey to sacred crocodiles and sacrifices two chickens in the hope for luck. The boys are on the team sheet for a night fight against the nearby village of Sawa. It's been arranged to help both teams prepare for the big contest. After a master-class with the national champion the boys enter the competition on behalf of Nyon. After two rounds Wolé and Joey hold the joint lead with a win and a draw each. Just behind are JJ and Murray, both with a single win. Murray and JJ lose their fights so it's down to just Wolé and Joey in the last round. Wolé faces Ki Ika, one of the top wrestlers in Burkina Faso who has already beaten Jarvis and drawn with Joey but brute force gives way to technique and Wolé loses. It was all down to Joey and all he needed was a win which he achieved and that means he wins the overall competition for the second week.

Week 3: Endurance racing in Nepal Winner: Ed In week 3 the contestants competed in a Sherpa mountain race where they would eventually climb a mountain. The contestants would have to carry a 25 kg stone in the process. Contestants stayed in the village of Pikehop, 10,000 feet above sea level. Forty-year-old Pulba had the task of training the contestants and Murray seemed like an early favourite as he stayed right behind the Sherpa whilst the others all struggled. The final practise saw the competitors go to the halfway point of the full course. Again Murray did very well finishing well before the rest, however Ed also did well. Before the big race the competitors all chose their stones which all had different messages on them. Murray's tactics for the race were to start off very fast. When the race started he ran very fast and was right behind the Sherpa for some time. Joey got in trouble early on when his basket (used to carry the stone) breaks. Jarvis helps him out but both are well behind the others. After an hour into the race Murray is exhausted and Ed and Wolé pass him. Wolé remains close behind Ed however after more than three and a half hours Ed comes through and is crowned Last Man Standing for this week. Wolé comes through in second with Murray coming in third. JJ and Joey come through fourth and fifth, whilst Jarvis brings up the rear.

Week 4: Canoeing in the Amazon Winner: Ed

In week four the contestants travelled to the Mato Grosso for a 16 km canoe race, with 8 km going downstream before turning around and paddling back upstream. JJ and Jarvis were the early favourites to win the overall race as they did the best in the first few training sessions. On race day it was they who led from the start of the race before being reeled in by Wolé. After only a few minutes Ed flooded his canoe and once he had finished emptying his canoe he was dead last. He soon managed to overtake the back three and had Murray in his sights. He gradually overhauled Murray and coming into the turn he and Wolé were neck and neck. Joey retired from the race, after just about reaching the halfway point, as he was exhausted. He was also complaining that his boat lent to one side. For the other competitors going back upstream was much harder but Ed opened up a lead and Murray pushed past Wolé. The final stretch was a shoot out between Ed and Murray. However Ed managed to hold on and became the first ever athlete to win back to back victories on Last Man Standing.

Week 5: Archery in Bhutan Winner: JJ

In week 5, A first happened within the Travellers, they were split into 2 groups to take part in an Archery contest between two tribes which make the Manchester Derby look soft. The targets they shoot from in Practise and in the Contest were 3 times the original distance that they use at Olympic level. In the Contest JJ hits the target with his 3rd of 7 shots which puts him in the lead with 2 points but 2 turns later, Murray registers a near miss, which scores 1 point. On the last turn Ed manages to get a near miss but these are the only people to hit the target.

Week 6: Endurance racing in deep snow in Kamchatka, Russia Winner: Murray

Week 7: Sikaran kick-fighting in the Philippines Winner: Wolé

In week seven the group arrive in the Philippines to take part in a Sikaran kick-fighting competition. During a training spar with Wole, Jarvis breaks two fingers. The doctors set them in a cast and strongly advise him not to fight but Jarvis, desperately seeking his first win, chooses to ignore them and opts to complete his training and enter the contest. Even with his injury, Jarvis impresses the trainers and is tipped as the favourite.