The programme followed a group of thirty-six men, women, and children who were tasked with building a community on the Scottish island of Taransay, 1+7⁄8 miles (3 kilometres) off the west coast of Harris, Outer Hebrides.

Described as a pioneering early form of the new genre of reality television, while a ratings success it nonetheless featured a number of issues during filming, leading to bad publicity and even a legal dispute.

The show followed a year-long effort by thirty-six men, women and children from the British public to build a community on Taransay, a Scottish island in the Outer Hebrides.

Castaway 2000 had no prize on offer at the end of the year-long experience, in comparison with Channel 4's Big Brother, which came along later in the year.

Candidates for the programme were selected and trained by survival expert John "Lofty" Wiseman to represent a cross-section of British society.

Miss Lowe was one of four Castaways who lost personal possessions they had chosen for the year when a container carrying supplies fell into the sea during an airlift.

Living in turf-covered eco pods, the castaways built a school and a slaughterhouse and erected polytunnels to grow produce.

Tanya Cheadle, a 26-year-old television producer, did much of the filming for the show – it was believed that having too many camera operators would undermine any sense of isolation.

The first run of four episodes proved a ratings hit, attracting audiences of 7–8 million viewers in January of that year.

According to the Radio Times looking back 15 years later, the show's "integrity as a pioneering format was diluted by what some participants have since argued was the production’s obsession with conflict, as well as regular interference and assistance from the outside world.