By Jennifer Cartwright
Published16th Sep 2025, 11:50 BST
One of the brave singles who took on the adventure is Jordan Turner, a barber and Leeds United fan. Jordan, a 30-year-old from Hemsworth, loves talking to people. It’s why he’s a barber by trade, chatting away as he cuts hair. It’s also why he was excited to sign up for the show.
For Jordan, nerves only hit when the matchmaking process began. Couples on the show are paired based on compatibility, assessed on speed dates. Not every contestant who speed dated found a match but Jordan was one of 12 singles who did.
He says: “I’d never speed dated – it was pretty weird and I was pretty nervous. “The weird thing about speed dating is you have to get in the key parts about yourself but also you don’t want to have the same date (many) times.”
Jordan is one 12 singles on new dating show Stranded on Honeymoon Island. Photo: BBC/CPL Productionsplaceholder image
Jordan is one 12 singles on new dating show Stranded on Honeymoon Island. Photo: BBC/CPL Productions
Once a match was made, the next step was to fly to the Philippines to undergo a symbolic marriage ceremony and become stranded together.
While close friends and family were highly supportive of Jordan’s endeavour, barbershop clients were told a cover story to keep the TV secret under wraps. “I said I was going travelling for a month,” Jordan explains, “and I wasn’t going to take my phone – a digital detox and that was it.”
On the 15 hour journey to the other side of the world, Jordan’s mind was racing as he questioned if he was doing the right thing and whether the person he matched with would like him. It was only at the altar that his bride was revealed: Millie, a DJ and model from Cheshire.
After walking the aisle and exchanging the vows, the pair faced their first challenge: to jump off a boat and swim to shore. An extra dilemma? Millie couldn’t swim. Jordan says: “I had to jump in on my own and put Millie on my back with a life jacket on (for us) to actually get to being stranded but it was fun.”
On the remote beach, Jordan and Millie had to learn how to survive in the heat with limited resources. There were no clocks to reveal the time of day, no phones to connect with loved ones back home, and bare necessities to get by: basic food, a small bed, and a toilet that didn’t even flush.
It was a difficult challenge but for Jordan, teamwork was essential to survival. He says: “Whatever we did, I just tried to make sure that we did it together because we’re in that experience together we may as well muck in together. We took it in turns to light the fire. It took ages but we stuck at it.”
Though now back in Yorkshire, Jordan remembers his time on the show fondly. For him, the best aspect has been the strong connections he’s made with other contestants.
Stranded on Honeymoon Island is on BBC1 on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, at 9pm.