Hunted is a British reality television series that began airing on Channel 4 on 10 September 2015. The series features contestants who are instructed to go on the run for a period of 21 days (previously 28 days between series 1–2, 25 days from series 3–7, and 21 days in series 8) in mainland Great Britain, whilst avoiding a team of Hunters composed of former and serving police, intelligence personnel, and on-foot teams.
During their time, the Hunters have access to contestants' personal information and use "powers of the state" such as ANPR, CCTV and call tracing to locate contestants. At times, the Hunters will use social media and monetary rewards to members of the public (and captured contestants) for information leading to a successful capture. On the final day, any remaining contestants must reach a designated "extraction" point before being captured, winning a share of £100,000. It has a similar format to the programme Wanted which aired from 1996–1997 on Channel 4.
A celebrity adaptation, Celebrity Hunted, is also produced in aid of Stand Up to Cancer, where contestants compete for a shorter time period of 14 days.
In March 2025, Channel 4 confirmed that Hunted and Celebrity Hunted would return for their eighth and seventh series respectively. Filmed in Summer 2025, the eighth regular series aired from 12 October 2025 to 3 November 2025 with the seventh celebrity series airing from 3 August 2026 to 25 August 2026.
Format and rules
In both the civilian and celebrity series, the contestants, now regarded as Fugitives, voluntarily go on the run in mainland Great Britain and must avoid detection from the Hunters, a group of current and former police and intelligence officials for 25 days (28 in the first two series and 14 for the celebrity series). From series two, the contestants are escorted to a public area and given a head start before the Hunters begin their search and are given the names of their targets. Fugitives are given a debit card with a small amount of money provided by the production team, and a rucksack containing essential and personal items (though in series five, the fugitives began with only the clothes on their back and no head start). During their time on the run the Fugitives can use any existing connections, or ask members of the general public, to assist them in avoiding capture.
Whilst the Fugitives attempt to avoid using technology and thus detection, the Hunters use a vast array of different "powers of the state", such as closed circuit surveillance, phone records and number plate recognition to pinpoint their chosen target. If one (or more) Fugitives have become difficult to locate, the Hunters use social media to encourage members of the public to reveal any information, and post content specifically for a Fugitive to reveal their location without realising. Hunters may also be directly contacted by the public with any leads by telephone. Any member of the public with information leading to capture is compensated for their effort. Hunters additionally operate throughout the country through use of two-person ground teams that can deploy immediately under order of the Chief. The ground teams also perform reconnaissance at Fugitives' homes and attempt to goad family members or loved ones for information and/or may be observed to determine any irregularities in their daily routines.
When a Fugitive is caught, they are told their time on the run is over and are escorted to a vehicle for debrief back at the Hunters’ headquarters.
In the final few days of the game, any Fugitives still on the run are given instructions for their 'extraction point' and a finite amount of time to get there. The Hunters are told of the last-known locations of the Fugitives and extend their efforts to figure out where the extraction is taking place. When a Fugitive successfully reaches the extraction point within the time-frame, they can no longer be caught by the Hunters and are deemed a Winner. Due to the nature of the show, there are two possible outcomes to the hunt: one or more Fugitives can reach the extraction point and win, or every Fugitive can be caught and the hunt prematurely ends (known as a "clean sweep").
Regular series
Series 1–7 were broadcast over 6 episodes, from Series 8 this was extended to 8 episodes.
Series Start date End date 1 10 September 2015 15 October 2015 2 22 September 2016 27 October 2016 3 4 January 2018 8 February 2018 4 10 January 2019 14 February 2019 5 13 February 2020 19 March 2020 6 22 May 2022 6 June 20227 17 March 2024 21 April 20248 12 October 2025 3 November 2025
Series 1 (2015) Fourteen contestants were chosen and began in their respective hometowns. Fairoaks Airport in Surrey served as the extraction point.
Name Age Occupation Hometown Status Lauren English 27 Decorator Cobham rowspan=4 Emily Dredge 28 Entrepreneur Putney Stephen Hardiker 36 Plumber Walsall Martin Cole 32 IT specialist Walsall Ricky Allen 56 General practitioner South London Adam Channell 30 PR manager Southampton rowspan=2 Emma Channell 30 PR manager Paris Adam Young 25 NHS support worker Bridgend Davinder "Dovski" Singh 30 Team manager Leicester rowspan=2 Harinder "Harry" Singh 28 Accountant Leicester Freddie Young 21 Teaching assistant Chingford rowspan=2 Jacqui Omer 44 Pub manager Chingford Elizabeth D'Arcy 56 Tutor Folkestone rowspan=2 Sandra Cooley 42 Occupational therapist Dublin
Notes Before he was caught, Ricky Allen proved so elusive while on the run in Scotland that one of the Hunters described it as "a real-life 39 steps" which was published in a newspaper as well as "wanted" posters.
Series 2 (2016) Ten contestants were chosen and began in Milk Street in Birmingham. The Isle of Sheppey in Kent served as the extraction point.Poppy Jeffery (28 October 2016) "Channel 4's Hunted contestants finish on Isle of Sheppey after Sittingbourne stay", Kent Online. Retrieved 28 October 2016. This was the first series where there was prize money for winners.
Name Age Occupation Hometown Status Nick Cummings 50 Househusband Taunton rowspan=2 Ayo Adesina 33 Software developer Hackney Anna May 25 Court clerk Keighley rowspan=2 Elizabeth Garnett 20 Stockbroker temp Leeds Madu Alikor 33 Software developer/consultant Hackney Lolly Jones 34 Comedian/actress London Hamish Thorburn 49 Property investor Wirral rowspan=2 Mikaela Skinner 46 Building shop owner Wirral Kirk Bowett 37 Facility manager London rowspan=2 Jeremy "Jez" Scarratt 57 Army medic simulator Cambridge
Notes Cummings had an accomplice impersonate him outside a leisure centre, leading the Hunters to believe they had caught him, when he was actually away on a canal path. After Alikor was caught, he was taken to Hunter HQ where Chief Peter Bleksley offered him £1,000 for information of the whereabouts of Adesina. Alikor declined the offer but admitted that he would have helped the Hunters if they had offered him £50,000.
Series 3 (2018) Nine contestants were chosen and began in Manchester city centre. The River Dart in Devon served as the extraction point. From this series to the seventh in 2024, the number of days to avoid capture was reduced to 25.
Name Age Occupation Hometown Status Daniel Murphy 33 Singer/milkman Preston rowspan=4 Joseph Appleton 29 Singer/milkman Preston Bob Ayling 60 Electrician Dover Alex Ayling 26 Postman Dover Magid Mah 28 Deputy mayor of Sheffield Sheffield Jamie Clark 37 Ex-policeman Dorset Mella Mwamba 28 Housewife Bromley rowspan=2 Sandra Canrom 30 Advertising executive Middlesex Carlene Crowe 67 Retired college tutor Suffolk rowspan=2
Notes Crowe was caught on the first day of being on the run. Father and son fugitives Bob and Alex Ayling began as a duo, but at Bob's encouragement about mid-way through their time on the run, they agreed to separate and reunite on the day of extraction. Alex is autistic and was bullied at school, but wanted to prove himself. Murphy and Appleton evaded the Hunters by cycling from place to place as their mode of transport. After the Fugitives learned the location of the extraction point, Alex Ayling was seen by the Hunters on CCTV appearing to drop something into a drain. The Hunters spent a considerable amount of time searching the drain for the item, which turned out only to be a receipt.
Series 4 (2019) Ten contestants were chosen and began at the Port of Liverpool. The roof of the Edgbaston Car Park, near the Bullring Shopping Centre in Birmingham served as the extraction point. This was the first time in any series that the Hunters won.
Name Age Occupation Home county Status Frank Savage 23 Campsite owner East Sussex Nathanael Watt 26 Architecture student Nottingham Harry Savage 20 Student Sussex Ismail Haruna 27 Architectural technologist Nottingham Loren Hannon 26 Personal banker Essex Matthew "Matt" Mason 29 Royal Marines Commando Devon Emma Davidson 23 Neo-natal intensive care nurse Devon rowspan=2 Jess Kirkham 27 Neo-natal intensive care nurse Devon Paul James 48 Construction manager Hertfordshire rowspan=2 Nick Batchelor 51 Lead youth worker Kent
Notes Ismail Haruna was caught after learning the location of the extraction point. At Hunter HQ, Chief Peter Bleksley offered him £4,000 for the extraction point's location. The Hunters also obtained audio footage from Nathanael Watt's social media accounts in an attempt to make Haruna believe Watt had just been captured. Ultimately, Haruna decided not to help the Hunters, although the Hunters were still able to gain information about the extraction point from his diary. Both Nathanael Watt and Frank Savage made it close to the extraction point before being captured. Watt was captured just inside the entrance of the car park, while Savage made it all the way to the roof before finally being caught.
Series 5 (2020) Ten contestants were chosen and began at A Bond Warehouse on Spike Island, Bristol. For this series, the Fugitives started with no supplies or prior knowledge of their starting point. Amlwch Port in Anglesey served as the extraction point.
Name Age Occupation Hometown Status Dan Ryder 33 Gym owner Wigan rowspan=4 Hayley Morrison 27 Human resources Wigan Rob Ellington 24 Social media content creator Wokingham Ben Arrowsmith 24 Pensions Reading Ella Tomkins 22 Charity researcher Newbury rowspan=2 Jess Warr 23 Independent financial advisor Swindon Daniel Edwards 32 Landscape gardener Birmingham Frankie Greenidge 35 Foster Carer Birmingham Toni Pugh-Thomas 48 Haute-Couturier Fulham Mervyn "Titch" Little 78 Retired British Army major Portsmouth
Series 6 (2022) Eleven contestants were chosen and began on the Isle of Wight. For this series, the fugitives started with only a change of clothes and a small amount of money. The island of Inchmurrin in Loch Lomond served as the extraction point.
Name Age Occupation Hometown Status Nathan Falcon 28 Graphic designer Castlefordrowspan=2 Sarah Kibble 35 Police officer Norfolk James Sorohan 32 Postman Castleford Grace Elliot 24 Drama teacher Hampshire rowspan="2" Abi Elliot 21 Occupational therapist Southampton Amarinder Sehda 34 Dentist Essex rowspan="2" Shoba Sehda 59 Admin officer Essex Liam Torpey 36 Plumber Sheffield rowspan="2" Katie Taylor 34 Art tutor Sheffield Meurig Boggust 30 Mental health nurse Swansea rowspan="2" Elinor Pope 22 Waitress Swansea
Series 7 (2024) A seventh series was broadcast in 2024, Twelve fugitives were chosen and began in central London. Stickle Tarn in the Lake District was the location of the extraction point. The series was filmed in June 2022 and was the last that fugitives had to avoid capture for 25 days.