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In this section Meagre food for babies first and elderly last, as villages empty of life Briton held in Thailand over fake passports Gangs threaten revival of civil war in Sudan Official: drinking improves thinking Settlers arrested trying to breach Gaza cordon before Israeli pullout Baby for coma patient Journal reveals Hitler's dysfunctional family Iran delays nuclear fuel programme Coup may realign Mauritania Detainees 'deprived of daylight' |  | Reality show teenager found dead Owen Gibson, media correspondent Monday May 23, 2005 The Guardian The psychological effect of reality television shows on contestants will come under renewed scrutiny after it emerged that a 17-year-old girl who apparently committed suicide at the weekend was soon to appear on-screen in a series filmed in Australia called The Colony. Carina Stephenson from Branton, a village near Doncaster in south Yorkshire, was found by police in woodland near her home on Saturday. She had told her family that she was going for a bike ride on Thursday morning and was reported missing later that day. The death is not being treated as suspicious. Article continues The History Channel, which co-financed the series that sought to recreate the lives of convicts sent to Australia 200 years ago, said yesterday that it had yet to decide whether to broadcast the show in the UK, but would respect the wishes of the family. Ms Stephenson had spent four months of last year in Australia filming the show with her parents and younger sister. In the programme, various families were transported back in time to "experience the unforgiving toughness of the colony of New South Wales as it was 200 ago". A spokeswoman for The History Channel said that producers would meet the Stephenson family before deciding whether the series, due to start on June 6, should go ahead. The series has already been shown on Australian television and is halfway through its run on the Irish channel RTE, which part-funded the programme. "The Stephenson family were chosen by producers because they were a very likeable family. The Australian producer of the show, who got to know them well during their time out there, plans to speak to the family," she said. "We're very upset at what has happened and our heart goes out to her family. Obviously the decision on whether to screen the show will depend on what the family think is best." The series, similar to Channel 4 shows such The 1940s House and The Edwardian House, was designed to examine history through the challenges faced by modern-day participants. Each family was assigned three "convicts" and set various challenges throughout their stay in August last year. The show's website said that "participants were challenged by hunger, illness, extreme weather and homesickness". But the spokeswoman refuted any suggestion that the show could have led to the teenager's death, saying that the family came back nearly six months ago and "were very positive about the experience". "They had been living the life of a convict family, along with families from Ireland and Australia, and were given a certain amount of provisions to live on. If there had been any upset or distress they could have gone home at any point. It's not Big Brother," she added, referring to the Channel 4 reality show that returns to the screens next week. The teenager, who had recently revealed she was a lesbian, had appeared "happy and normal" in the days before her death, according to her family. A postmortem examination will be carried out later this week. Earlier this year, Najai Turpin, a contestant in the US boxing reality show The Contender, shot himself just three weeks before the series was due to be screened. The broadcaster NBC went ahead with the programme, presented by Sylvester Stallone, and denied any responsibility. A similar controversy also hit Sweden's Expedition: Robinson, which was one of the earliest reality shows and in 1997 became the global hit Survivor. Sinisa Savija, 34, committed suicide after becoming the first contestant to be voted off the show, two months before it aired. Special report Australia Archived articles More on Australia World news guide Australia Useful links Australian Broadcasting Corporation Sydney Morning Herald The Age Printable version | Send it to a friend | Save story

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