Rutland girl and Loughborough University graduate Emma Fleming appears on the latest series of E4 programme Shipwrecked

An English graduate from Rutland is competing for a £50,000 prize on the E4 television programme Shipwrecked.

Emma Fleming jetted off to the Cook Islands for filming last summer after applying to take part "as a bit of a joke".

The programme sees two teams abandoned on remote islands for three weeks to test their survival skills.

Emma, 21, said: "I was absolutely terrified about what lay ahead. I was completely jetting into the unknown and didn’t know what to expect. Yes I had watched it but it is very different to actually being on it!"

Emma graduated from Loughborough University last summer.

The closest she had ever got to a shipwrecked experience before was camping in Zambia as a 17-year-old, but admits it "wasn't nearly as intense and there were no TV cameras".

The new series of Shipwrecked launched on E4 last week.

The outcome is a closely guarded secret but in an interview with the programme's team ahead of the first episode, Emma said: "Obviously it was intense and really hard.

"I was quite good around new people. I made them laugh. It was really helpful the other cast were so nice.

"When new arrivals came along, I wasn’t afraid to get to know them. I am so terrified of people being left out, I go the extra way to make sure everyone is included."

Her highlights include swimming in the Pacific Ocean and the thing she missed most was her friends.

Emma added: "I am stronger as a person now and I definitely feel a lot more capable."

Shipwrecked will continue every week night on E4 at 9pm until February 15 when the winner will be announced.

Emma has since revealed she would love to work in television again, either as an actor or presenter.

Photos: Channel 4