71 Degrees North is a reality television series on ITV which began broadcasting on 11 September 2010. Ten celebrities had to battle it out to see who would make it to the 71st parallel north, with challenges along the way. It returned for a second series in 2011.

Broadcast

71 Degrees North is a British adaptation of the Norwegian television series 71° nord, which had been broadcast on TVNorge since 1999, and adapted in Sweden, Denmark, Poland, The Netherlands, and Belgium. The format was distributed by Banijay International. Mazda formerly sponsored the show, Continental tires were the final sponsors. In the UK, the show was made by London-based production company Fever Media and finished broadcasting its first series on 2 November 2010. The show was aired at 9 pm on Tuesday nights. Series 1 hosts were Gethin Jones and Kate Thornton. Marcus Patric was crowned champion after a closely fought final with Gavin Henson in the first series. A second series was commissioned by ITV and started airing on 13 September 2011 hosted by Paddy McGuinness and Charlotte Jackson with 12 celebrities taking part. As with the first series, the second series aired on Tuesday evenings at 9 pm. In 2011, six countries acquired both series of the UK version. They were: TV Norge, Network Ten in Australia, TVNZ in New Zealand, Sic in Portugal, TV5 in Finland and Évasion in Canada. On 19 June 2012, it was announced by ITV that 71 Degrees North had been axed after two series.

Format

The show followed ten (twelve in the second series) celebrities who attempted to make it to the North Cape at 71 degrees north. The contestants are split into Blue and Red teams at the start of each Challenge. The team that wins each challenge gets to stay in a log cabin, while the losing team has to camp. The winner of immunity from the previous Challenge becomes captain of one of the teams. At the end of each episode, the celebrity who performed worst on that day's challenge was eliminated.

Series 1 (2010)

Marcus Patric was crowned champion after a closely fought final with Gavin Henson.

Episodes

Celebrities

Challenges

In episode 6, the winning team had the chance to spend the night in an Ice Hotel. Joe took this opportunity, Andrew opted for a warmer log cabin.

Series 2 (2011)

On 1 March 2011, ITV confirmed that a second series has been commissioned and would begin airing on 13 September 2011, lasting 8 weeks before finishing on 1 November 2011.

Episodes

Celebrities

On 18 July 2011, the 10 confirmed celebrities for Series 2 were revealed, They were:

Challenges

Team captains are in Bold.

Transmissions

International versions

The concept has been sold to several countries. The Danish, Belgium/Netherlands and UK versions were all filmed in Norway. The other series were recorded in the respective countries. Around 2000 or 2001, German broadcaster RTL2 were sold the format but no series was made. Legend: Ongoing Finished