Dumped

Production and format

Filmed in June 2006, Dumped was initially scheduled for Channel 4's Spring 2007 line-up but was postponed until the channel's period of "creative renewal" following the racism controversy during the fifth series of Celebrity Big Brother in January 2007. Eleven participants, not initially told their task, lived on a purpose-made rubbish dump adjacent to a working landfill for 21 days, equipped only with a sleeping bag, drinking can, and one roll of lavatory paper each. Rob Holdway, director of environmental consultancy Giraffe Innovation, presented the programme and set regular challenges. Participants wore Kevlar gloves, protective boots, and face masks on the real landfill, and all personnel received tetanus, polio, and hepatitis vaccinations.

Contestants

The 11 contestants "represented the complete spectrum of public opinion on environmental issues." Potential participants were told they would be part of "a unique eco-challenge" rather than living on a landfill. One contestant, Darren Lumsden, voluntarily left after three days, claiming the experience taught him nothing; he later appeared on another reality TV show called The Chop in October 2020.

Pre-series publicity

Described as Channel 4's "biggest marketing campaigns of the year," Dumped was promoted via advertisements on websites including Yahoo, The Guardian, New Scientist, The Daily Telegraph, and MSN. Television adverts used the 1998 single "Delta Sun Bottleneck Stomp" by Mercury Rev. Posters with the tagline "Living off the landfill" appeared across Britain and on the London Underground, and some bus shelter posters were made of rubbish. The 2 September 2007 edition of The Sunday Times featured a biodegradable bag wrap. Eight members of the London Philharmonic Orchestra performed "Land of Hope and Glory" on the landfill using instruments made from waste.

Reaction

Dumped received relatively low viewing figures for a peak time programme on a terrestrial channel. The first episode had 2.4 million viewers (10% audience share), compared to the television premiere of The Queen on ITV1 (7.9 million, 36% share) and Coming Down the Mountain on BBC One (4.7 million, 20% share). The second episode was watched by 1.7 million, while the opening episode of the third series of ITV1's Hell's Kitchen had 3.6 million. The penultimate episode drew 1.5 million (7% share) against Hell's Kitchen's 3.4 million (15% share).

The final episode attracted 1.9 million (8% share), while Hell's Kitchen had 4.2 million (19% share); both were beaten by BBC One's Traffic Cops (5.5 million, 25% share). Critical reaction was mixed. James Walton of The Telegraph criticised the programme's purpose, commenting on Darren's departure that another interpretation was that he understood the experiment. The Times criticised the artificial dump for health and safety reasons, comparing it to Blue Peter fakery scandals, but Nigel Kendall called the programme "entertaining" and its contestants "likeable," while Paul Hoggart said it got its point across.

TV Scoop called it "a great experiment" but disapproved of "fame hungry" participants, comparing it to Big Brother. Hecklerspray gave a negative review, calling participants "absolute fucking morons," and Orange gave 3 out of 5 stars. Channel 4 controller Julian Bellamy commented at the Edinburgh Television Festival 2008 that it "didn't have the human narrative you need" and was "a little bit too like other reality shows."