A young Kent man who didn't like fish or sand and wasn't keen on camping has just spent three months on a desert island for Channel 4 show, Shipwrecked.

Barrie Ridley was selected out of 80,000 applicants to take part in the show which consists of two teams battling it out to win a £100,000 prize while living on little more than lamb tongues, fruit and rice.

The 24-year-old, from Queenborough, who previously worked as a prison officer at Swaleside, swapped Sheppey for the shores of Motorakau, an island in the remote paradise of the Aitutaki atoll in the south Pacific.

Barrie said: "It was an amazing shock to be chosen. It was the best feeling in the world that all you have done is be yourself and you've got recognition.

"I am definitely not lazy any more, and I wasn't as lazy as I thought I'd be on the island. I wasn't disappointed with the girls – they were stunning!"

He has kept in touch with friends he made on the island, and even though the other Shipwreckers hadn't heard of Sheppey, they were intrigued and want to come and visit.

As a final word Barrie said: "It could open so many doors, but if it doesn't I am quite happy to go back to being Barrie from the Isle of Sheppey who works at the prison."

For the full exclusive interview see this week's Sheerness Times Guardian.