Hunted the TV show.

[Cakeandmarshmallows]

So I'm catching up on this while baby sleeps and while I know it is all a set up!! I'm curious about the hitchhiking bit....would you pick up a hitchhiking person? Especially if they had someone with a camera with them? I was always told not to pick up hitchhikers coz of potential risks....and was told not to hitchhike!!
Just random sleep deprived musings really!

We are quite rural so we do tend to pick up, usually lost hill walkers.

We started watching this on holiday so have downloaded it to go back to the start.

What do you mean a set up? Also, I wondered how do people know to report them. Like the man in the pub called and said he had seen the military guy, how do people know it's part of the programme? Also random sleep deprived musings....

I pick up hitchhikers, not that you see them often these days.

Picked up a couple of young guys in the Lake District last year who were hitchhiking near the motorway. They had climbing gear on so I decided they were safe!

I tell myself I won't/shouldn't pick up single blokes but I have a couple of times. I make a snap assessment of whether they look safe or not, there's plenty that I've driven past as well.

I've picked up a couple of single girls as well but don't to see many females hitchhiking.

I used to hitchhike a lot as a teenager in the 80s/early 90s. Also hitchhiked in Uganda. Amazed I'm still alive really!

I love watching this programme. One thing that puzzles me is that it must be quite hard staying under the radar when you've got a cameraman following you around - like when the two nurses were on the train and they decided to sit separately so the cctv didn't spot them together - did they not consider that the cctv would spot the cameraman sitting opposite them?

I suspect that like most of these programs there is an element of set up or playing for camera, but maybe I'm just cynical!
Impressed at ppl who do pick up hitchhikers.
And yes the cctv thing and the fugitives being followed by a camera person must make them very conspicuous!
The random musings of the sleep deprived eh!?

I wouldn’t pick up a hitchhiker personally.

But I do wonder if the camera crew does encourage more people to give them lifts.

I find it a bit depressing the numbers of people willing to dob the fugitives in, often not even for a reward. Why would you do that?

I'm the same as you, NicoAndTheNiners (although less well-travelled) in that I always said I wouldn't pick up hitch-hikers when I'm alone in the car, but a couple of times I have (both times when I was on quite quiet roads and thought they wouldn't otherwise get a lift for ages).

And I've done it when I've been with DH quite a lot.

I think it's a nice thing to do.

I have picked up hitchhikers before. I have also tried to hitchhike when out walking and by no one would stop for me.

It was when the girl walked up and said I am on the run can I have a lift ? Who would say yes ?

Yes I would never report them I would help

I don't pick up hitchhikers but I may be more likely to if they have a camera crew and were on hunted as I'd feel more safe!

I think they do some paid social media in the areas they think they're in which is why some know about them. Also, if anyone has seen the show and meets someone off it they know there may be a reward so probably go googling to find out how to report them.

If you follow HUNTED on Twitter or FB etc you get alerts for the people "on the run" while they are filming iyswim

It happened a few times that I got alerts of the new batch of "fugitives"

I'd pick up one of the Hunted fugitives. And tell them not to try and visit their family members and give themselves away like everyone does in every single blinking episode.

Re the cameraman I also think that they make the fugitives pretty conspicuous generally and when they are out in the open and they send up drones. Game over.

I also surprised how many of those on the run end up going back close to home or wanting to meet their famillies. And the marine who tried to trap the hunters! Seemed suicidal.

Yes I have told my Ds if I ever went on it I would say I love you and we will have a great catch up in a few weeks . He is 11 and agreed.

I loved this show but it's stupid now. Previous contestants have said how they are obliged to withdraw cash a few times and make contact with family otherwise you could just head to the hills the entire time. You also can't stay in one place. They said the producer who accompanies them feeds tips back to the hunters to make the show more entertaining. It makes the contestants look daft.

They also keep the location on their helpers phones

Or at least don't turn them off

It is very silly programme but I do enjoy watching it

Or hide burner phones in various places around country and give burner phones to friends and family

I guess it does show people watching how traceable we are when we have location thingy on our phones (which I don't it have switched on but realise the ping thingy is real and amsr for number plates etc)

I know someone who was asked in advance of filming to take some contestants by car to a specific location.

I watched the first couple of series but knowing that pretty much all of it is set up I can’t bring myself to bother now.

Because if you were going to be a contestant you would pre-plan wouldn’t you? Go and hide cash in different places etc.

Definitely a set up.(As is all reality TBH. Except maybe the SAS one). Otherwise they’d catch them all and have no-one to get to the extraction point. They need a certain number of episodes too. Past series were better IMO, this series there have been loads of ‘well how they he’ll would they know that??’ moments where they’ve just skipped tracking them or didn’t bother showing us 😄

If I was on the programme

I would want to be in familiar locations or areas that I had been before or on holiday etc rather than going to a part of uk that I had never been to before

I've never watched the normal version but got quite invested in the last celebrity version (although I didn't know who some of them were).

I'd never pick up a hitchhiker though.