# When Sweden invented the reality game show

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/witness-history-162365/when-sweden-invented-the-reality-game-show
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/witness-history-162365/when-sweden-invented-the-reality-game-show.md
Podcast: [Witness History](https://stenobird.com/podcast/witness-history-162365)
Published: 2026-05-14T06:00:00+00:00
Episode link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3ct98bb
Audio file: http://open.live.bbc.co.uk/mediaselector/6/redir/version/2.0/mediaset/audio-nondrm-download-rss-low/proto/http/vpid/p0nfvz67.mp3
Processing state: not_requested
JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/witness-history-162365/episodes/when-sweden-invented-the-reality-game-show
Duration seconds: 606

## Resource

In 1997, Sweden changed television history. That year saw the launch of Expedition Robinson, widely regarded as the world’s first reality-based competitive television programme. The premise was strikingly simple. A group of ordinary people were stranded on a remote island, where they were required to build shelter, compete in challenges and vote one another out — until only one contestant remained. When the final votes were cast, it was Martin Melin who stood alone. In doing so, he became the world’s first reality TV winner — years before the genre would grow into a global entertainment force. The programme’s path to broadcast was far from smooth. It prompted fierce ethical debate in Sweden and came close to being pulled before transmission. Yet once it aired, it became one of the country’s most talked-about and successful television shows. Its format would go on to inspire the international hit Survivor, which marks its 50th US season in 2026. Martin tells Maddy Savage how it felt to be part of a new cultural phenomenon. A Podlit production. Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by and curious about the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people who were there. For nine minutes every day, we take you back in time and all over the world, to examine wars, coups, scientific discoveries, cultural moments and much more. Recent episodes explore everything from how the Excel spreadsheet was developed, the creation of cartoon rabbit Miffy and how the sound barrier was broken. We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: the moment Reagan and Gorbachev met in Geneva, Haitian singer Emerante de Pradines’ life…

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## Transcript

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