Ten fresh, famous faces are returning to Channel 4 for the show’s fifth series. Celebrities now known as fugitives are on the run for, Stand Up To Cancer’s Celebrity Hunted. Over the years we have worked on numerous projects with Shine TV and have collaborated with them for both Hunted and Celebrity Hunted. Take a look at our involvement in series 4 of Celebrity Hunted.  

For series 5 of Celebrity Hunted, GB Helicopters were called to conduct the aerial filming, while also helping to track the well-known fugitives.

Conducting the aerial filming

For series 5 of Celebrity Hunted, we operated two AS355 twin-engine helicopters’ to conduct the aerial filming.

On board with the pilot was a hunter tracking the fugitives, coordinating with the ground team to track and capture the celebrities.

Rigged to the helicopter was a state-of-the-art GSS C516, a lightweight and compact gyro-stabilised camera system. To capture the shots for series 5 of Celebrity Hunted we paired our GSS with our RED Epic Dragon.

Shropshire was one of the locations we were tasked to fly to, for series 5 of Celebrity Hunted. This was well documented on social media and media outlets on the day of filming since many spotted our aircraft and shared their sightings.

Flying above Shrewsbury prison we captured shots of the celebrity fugitives escaping the former prison. Using the footage were the professional hunters on board, transmitting the footage to the ground team, and keeping track of the fugitives’ locations.

As documented, this was the start of the celebrity fugitives attempting to remain undetected by the former police and intelligence officials.

Celebrity Fugitives Line-up

The celebrity fugitives taking part and paired together for Channel 4’s Celebrity Hunted are the following.

• Nik Speakman and Eva Speakman
• Ed Gamble and James Acaster
• Katya Jones and Amiee Fuller
• Saffron Barker and Bobby Seagull
• Nicola Thorp and Nikesh Patel

Permissions Required

We obtained the necessary permissions for the aerial filming of series 5 Celebrity Hunted. We utilised our long-standing low-level permit from the CAA to conduct the aerial filming for this project.

Our operations team and pilots boast a wealth of expertise working with producers and directors for aerial filming projects. Please discuss with our team to make your vision a reality with our aerial filming services. Call us on 0800 030 4105 or complete the contact form below.

Aerial Film Services

Celebrity Hunted is available to watch on Channel 4 and All 4.

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The Traitors is the UK version English of the Dutch reality show “De Verraders”.  It is a psychological competition where contestants decide whom they can trust. In the Scottish Highlands, at a remote castle, Claudia Winkleman welcomes 22 strangers. They begin a psychological battle in the new BBC reality competition series. To win a cash reward of up to £120,000, the competitors start the ultimate game of deception, betrayal, and trust.

Disguised amidst the 22 participants are those known as Traitors, individuals hand-picked by Winkleman at the beginning of the series at ‘the roundtable’. The remaining members are referred to as the ‘Faithfuls’.

The Traitors’ mission is to assassinate one of the other players every night while avoiding detection from the Faithfuls. Before they become the next victim, the Faithful role is to detect who the traitors are and banish them from the game.

The competitors are given challenges to complete as a team, whether a Traitor or a Faithful. These challenges allow the contestants to build a total cash prize of up to £120,000. By the end of the game, the surviving Faithful has the chance of winning the life-changing sum. But if the Traitor goes unnoticed, they can take it all. 

How did GB Helicopters participate?

For this project of The Traitors, we conducted many of our services from aerial filming and helicopter stunts. Working with Studio Lambert and the BBC, we made their vision a reality as we perform many services under our umbrella of aerial filming services. Our expert team at GB Helicopters do their best to exceed producers’ vision for their projects.

Flying over the Scottish Highlands in our AS355 helicopter rigged with our Red Epic Dragon camera to capture the picturesque views. The footage provided the series with aerial shots of the scenery and castle used within the production. The shots taken are seen throughout the series as crossovers.

The production team requested footage of the Jacobite Steam Train crossing The Glenfinnan Viaduct, renowned for its appearances in the Harry Potter blockbusters. The train travels from Fort William to Mallaig twice daily. We examined the train schedule to ensure we were airborne ahead of time to capture the incredible shots. The opening title of the series includes this footage of the Jacobite Steam Train.

Who doesn’t get excited about an aerial stunt?

At GB Helicopters we are well-known for carrying out aerial stunts for TV productions. You can see our previous aerial stunts in various productions which aired last year such as Gordon Ramsay’s Future Food Stars, and RTEs Ultimate Hell Week. Studio Lambert and the BBC took the opportunity to put our aerial stunt expertise to the test.

Well, for The Traitors the stunt selected by the production team was the popular heli-jump. Over the bitter Scottish lake, our chief pilot and director Will Banks flew the contestants in our AS355 helicopter before they plunged into the intensity of the water. This was filmed by drone pilot Steve Peters.

Permissions required?

Throughout the filming, for this project, we obtained the permissions necessary to allow us to achieve the required footage. To enable us to conduct the aerial filming for this project we operated at our long-standing permit for low-level flying. When conducting the aerial stunts for The Traitors we obtained a permit from the CAA to allow for jumps into the cold waters.

The Traitors is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.

Complete our enquiry form below to contact our operations team to use our aerial filming services for your next production.

Take a look at more of our aerial film projects.

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Written by Tony Schumacher a former Merseyside police officer. Tony used his experiences from his time as a first responder to write the gripping police thriller TV series. With first-hand accounts where good, hard-working people are being stretched beyond belief.

The Responder explores the emotional difficulties of life on the front lines, which British Policing face. Starring Martin Freeman as Chris Carson, a morally compromised first responder. Carson tackles a series of night shifts on the beat on the streets of Liverpool. Consequently, officer Carson becomes stretched to the point of mental exhaustion as a result of countless ‘on-the-job’ scenes. His duties require him to attend to emergency calls, which can include anything from recovering body parts from road traffic accidents to neighbour disputes. He parades across the city of Liverpool, amidst the hustle and bustle.

Along with dealing with the mentally demanding activities officer Carson encounters daily. Carson’s professional life starts to influence his personal life, causing his mental health to deteriorate after many years on the force. As a result of this, his marriage suffers. As the series progresses, Chris begins to wonder what is right.

How was GB involved?

To complete the required filming shots for this project we used one of our As355 Twin-engine helicopters. Filmed with our GSS nose-mounted camera system, which we paired with our Red Epic Dragon camera and a 30-300mm lens. We used our equipment to film and collect extracts providing aerial footage for the series.

The 5 part series aired in January on BBC One and is available to watch on iPlayer.

The post The Responder appeared first on GB Helicopters.

The previous series saw a massive 11.7m viewers watch us fly in the celebrities in five helicopters for the opening episode. For the 2021 series we didn’t only film the arrival of the celebrities. This time Ant and Dec also got in on the action with a flight in their very own helicopter.

Before the show aired, the public had the chance to vote for who would take part in the first challenge.  Six celebrities were chosen and then split into two teams.

Each team flew in one of our AS355s, either OLCP or VGMC. Both helicopters feature complementary paint schemes, making them perfect as matching picture ships for productions. The celebrities flew to their first challenge. And like in 2020, it was a test of how they deal with heights.

Ant and Dec, were provided with VIP treatment and flown in by our AW109SP luxury helicopter. They looked right at home in their leather seats, in sharp contrast to the conditions the celebrities were about to endure for the next three weeks.

Providing the aerial filming for the celebrities’ arrival, and for Ant and Dec’s travels, was another of our twin squirrels. Mounted with our GSS C516, we filmed air-to-air in addition to flying the celebs to their destinations.

Months of preparation and hard work went into making the first episode happen it was a spectacular watch. We hope you enjoyed it. The show airs every evening at 9pm on ITV.

The post I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here 2021 appeared first on GB Helicopters.

Our Flight Operations Compliance Manager, Abi Hensby, works incredibly hard every year to ensure that we operate at the highest standards possible for our industry and we are very proud of our exemplary record.

These practices and procedures are constantly evaluated and amended as the industry evolves. They are in place not only to help protect the helicopter pilot, crew and passengers, but also to guarantee we deliver the most comprehensive service that is of the utmost quality.

Going Further

Our efforts to improve our services do not stop here. We have worked hard to attain three ISO standards set out by the International Organisation for Standardisation. These include:

• ISO 9001:2015 – for Quality Management Systems
• ISO 14001:2015 – for Environmental Management Systems
• BS OHSAS 18001: 2007 – the British standard for occupational health and safety management

These standards are not necessary to carry out the wide variety of work we provide. However, they are something we have endeavoured to achieve to assist us in delivering a world-class service. These standards contribute from the well-being of the office staff and ground crew to the pilots and aircraft. And this applies across our three sectors of work: helicopter charter, aerial filming and utility works.

Following these advancements, 2021 will see us implement a Carbon Neutral policy to help offset our impact on the environment. This is an important issue that will affect every aspect of our lives. It is vital that we do more to measure the effect we have on the environment. More information on this will follow later in the year.

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Due to this year’s ongoing situation. It was not possible for the show to take place in its usual location of Murwillumbah, New South Wales. Its new home for 2020 would be Gwrych Castle in North Wales.

The opening episode was viewed by a massive 11.7m viewers. Usually, it features half the celebrities making a grand entrance into camp, and this year’s show would be no different. So, ITV went looking for five helicopters for the celebrities and another one to film them. As one of the few aerial filming companies in the country with this number of aircraft, we were ideally suited to fill this role. With all the aircraft and filming equipment in-house, production had the confidence that we could provide everything required without having to rely on third parties.

The show required that the helicopters carrying the celebrities were to be twin-engine, and black. With six of our ten aircraft being twin-squirrel AS355’s, this was fine. However, only one is currently completely black, and that’s G-CMRA. So, in order to meet this requirement, we had four of our helicopters painted black over two days (G-LINE, G-DCAM, G-OLCP & G-VGMC).

Finally, we nailed down the shot list and formations we would be flying to achieve them. Our pilots have a wealth of experience flying in formation with another aircraft when aerial filming but flying as part of a five-aircraft formation was going to be a new experience for a few of them. However, the principals behind this remain the same; so there was little doubt that they’d all excel at the task.

After all the preparation and painting was complete, it was time for the fun part, a practice flight. From our base in Cheshire we got all the pilots, camera operators and ground crew together and lined up the aircraft. Six helicopters, all rotors running and engines roaring, took to the skies in what was an epic display of machines and noise. The I’m A Celebrity production team were going to be in for a treat.

_{Huge thanks to drone operations Lec Park & Andy L for this video}

Next up was rehearsal day, one week prior to showtime. The weather could not have been better for a day in mid-July, let alone in November. Once again, six helicopters took to the skies. Will Banks flying the camera ship (G-TVGB) with DoP Mike Parker. The duo left base armed with the GSS C516 and the Sony P1. They headed to Snowdonia to get shots of the sunrise over the Welsh mountains. Completely still conditions gave perfect views and crystal-clear reflections from the lakes dotted around the valleys.

The first formation flights would take place before heading north and flying over Gwrych Castle and Abergele. The five twin squirrels arrived later, and this caused quite a stir. Reports of helicopters over the I’m A Celebrity castle were everywhere! Photos and videos of us making it to social media and news sites. Speculation went into overdrive and there was a noticeable spike in excitement surrounding the preparations for the show.

The rehearsal had gone perfectly and everyone was thrilled with the results. We now had to do it all over again the following week, on Friday the 13^th, and the weather was looking awful. Anxiety levels were rising as the day approached and the weather hadn’t improved. Then, two days before the shoot, the weather looked to be in our favour. Twelve hours later however, it was back to wind and rain. But with less than 18 hours to go, the weather decided to behave and gave us a weather window of clear blue skies for the shoot. For two days, one week apart, in November, in the Welsh mountains, we had nearly identical weather.

Then came the big day. With the pilots final briefing the night before and a good night’s rest, they were ready to head off. Once again Will and Mike left early to get shots of the sun rising over North Wales, while the main fleet took off to a secret location, ready for the celebrities to arrive. Landing at the site, lined up nose to tail, they waited for this year’s (un)lucky contestants to appear.

One at a time, the blindfolded celebrities where loaded into a helicopter, which then took off and made its way to our camera ship. As each helicopter joined they formed up to allow the celebrities to see each other for the first time. Once all of them were onboard and all six helicopters formed up, they made their way through Wales and Snowdonia. We flew through gorgeous valleys, above lakes and over mountain peaks in various formations. Allowing us to shoot stunning footage as we flew.

The Celebrities were dropped off at a remote location, going straight into their first task. We returned to base for a debrief.

All that was left to do now was put the aircraft away and strip away the paint. While we wait until Sunday to see the results.

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