Survivalist tests his limits anew in ‘Left for Dead’

Ed Stafford in the cable series “Left for Dead”

British survivalist Ed Stafford, who has become a regular on cable channel Discovery for unscripted shows that test his endurance and mental strength, is up for another challenge. This time, the former soldier will star in the show “Ed Stafford: Left for Dead” (airing Oct. 17, 8:10 p.m.), which takes him to dangerous locales across the globe.

“It’s upping the ante—having done ‘Naked and Marooned’ and two [seasons] of ‘Marooned,’ there was a feeling that I’d made enough grass skirts and lit enough fires, that things needed to progress a little bit,” he told the Inquirer in a phone interview from his home in England.

“I’m still going in with no food and, on top of being able to do the basics and just physically get through the first 10 days, I now [have] to get to an exit point from that remote environment.”

Potentially hostile locations include territories in Bolivia, Laos, Madagascar and Bulgaria.

According to the ex-soldier, the experience is harder than his previous undertakings: “There’s a lot of decision-making … and because I’m self-filming it, it’s all just very real. I’ve always had confidence in the fact that, if you do things for real, then exciting stuff happens—you don’t need to script it.”

Stafford describes his relationship with Discovery as “quite nerve-wracking.’” He explained, “I’m grateful to Discovery Channel, because it has trusted me from the beginning.”

Stafford fondly recalled a project that he continues to be proud of, the aforementioned “Naked and Marooned.” “It was filmed in 2012 … it still haunts me in many ways, because it was 60 days on my own and it wasn’t easy at all.”

Stafford was in Coron, Palawan, last year for one of the “Marooned” episodes—but, it wasn’t exactly an exciting experience for the adventurer. “It was quite hard, actually,” he said. “Because it was a beach and I got ill … I had to swim across a reef, and I scratched my leg, which initially didn’t look serious at all, but then it got infected and I got cellulitis, which can be quite dangerous. I had to call the medics in to give me different doses of antibiotics.”

It didn’t end there, however: “At the same time, we got hit by some sort of viral infection. I just lay on the beach and felt sorry for myself.”

But despite the ordeal, he said he would return in a heartbeat under more pleasant circumstances.

“I’d love to,” he said. “Yeah, the Philippines is an amazing place, and it was fantastic in every respect, apart from the fact that I was unprepared and [what happened] came as a shock to me. I would love to come back another time.”

Stafford, now in his early 40s, also shared important tips: “I knew that panic was something I really wanted to avoid. I used to teach jungle survival, and I used to recommend that people treat a survival situation like a game. I wasn’t trying to be flippant in suggesting that, but somehow if you play a game, all your senses are alert, and you’re doing all the things you need in order to win.”

And these days, he’s also “managing” his “own brain” as part of surviving: “Meditation is the way to get balance, really.”

On “Left for Dead’s” entertainment value, he emphasized, “This is more fast-paced, there’s a lot of decision-making. It’s almost like an obstacle course of crazy things that I need to achieve to get out!”