What is Hunted?

You have no mates.

That's a bit off.

Not you. Channel 4. Its tweets have been uncharacteristically cryptic of late...

...seems to be a bit of cloak-and-dagger advertising.

Indeed but it's not trying to sell you a skinny latte. Hunted is a new Channel 4 show about the surveillance state's all-seeing gaze.

Sounds sinister.

It is. CCTV clocks us 70 times a day, and that's just the start. Everything from cash withdrawals and purchases to telephone calls or social media posts can be monitored. Cameras, phones and oyster cards track our journeys. The places we visit are stored, and our most personal details sit on scores of anonymous databases. Our every habit and behaviour leaves a data trail of who and where we are.

I meant the show sounds sinister.

Imagine how the fugitives felt.

Fugitives?

Over the summer, 14 ordinary Brits were tasked with escaping the tracks of their electronic footprint and going off-grid. Alone or in pairs they had to give up their lives and try to evade capture from a team of expert hunters for up to 28 days.

What, they went after them with rifles?

Modern hunters. 30 specialists including former and serving police and intelligence personnel, an ex-CIA agent and cyber intelligence experts. The team was led by Brett Lovegrove, former Head of Counter Terrorism for the City of London Police.

Surely they all just hopped on the first flight to a tropical island.

The fugitives had to follow a few simple rules including that they abide by the law and could not leave the UK.

Interesting... but 'going dark' hardly sounds like great TV.

Each team of fugitives was accompanied by a dedicated cameraperson so that every moment of being on the run was captured on film. If the trailer's anything to go by, Hunted won't just be interesting – it'll be downright scary:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YjlGnECL3iY

Hunted begins on Thursday 10th September on Channel 4 at 9pm