Derby dad and daughter face challenges of the jungle in new Channel 4 show

Two Derby locals talk about their experience in the new Channel 4 "Into the Jungle" show.

Two Derby locals follow Ed Stafford into Belize’s jungle to complete a series of survival challenges for a new Channel 4 show, that aims to bring dads and their kids closer together.

The father and daughter duo, Ezra,11 and Efdal Ahmet, 47 are originally from Burton-on-Trent however the family runs a business in Derby. Efdal (Ezra’s father) said: “We applied originally ages ago and it was a bit of a last-minute process. We did a training course in Peterborough and it was a lot of back and forth. Then we found ourselves on a flight to Belize. We were buzzing, to be honest, it was a really surreal experience.”

The Channel 4 series called “Into the Jungle” aired its first episode on Tuesday, September 24, and started out with the dads and their kids venturing to a sinkhole in the middle of the jungle where they will work together to abseil down a 160ft cliff face.

The series was hosted by Ed Stafford, an English explorer and survival expert, who also became the first man to walk the entire length of the Amazon River.

Efdal continued: “It was like being in a real-life Jumanji, it was so weird being in the middle of the jungle. It first sort of hit us when we saw the 90-person crew waiting for us there. The first challenge we came across was probably the hardest for people with phobias as it was a high cliff. As soon as Ezra came out there was a massive thunder and lighting storm, so we decided to back down.”

There will be six episodes in the series where the families take part in a series of challenges that allow the duos to challenge themselves and put them outside of their comfort zones.

Ezra said: “I kept getting into my own head about the first challenge, it was really scary. I’m not used to the cameras and microphones every morning so it was really weird. I was never really nervous about going on the show, I was just really excited about going onto it. We definitely got closer, the more fun we had with each other the more we saw how much we depended on each other. I didn't really miss home when I was there.”

The duo was out there for 19 days of filming in total, and it was Ezra’s first time in the jungle, she said: “Everything I thought it was going to be like was blown out of the window, I couldn't have thought about anything that would have been close to being there.”

The Channel 4 show will air every Tuesday at 9.30pm and will see the family duos take part in a range of different challenges in the thick jungle of Belize.