A TEENAGE reality television star has returned home after spending five months on a tropical island.

One of the stars of the new series of Shipwrecked, which begins this weekend on Channel 4, is 18-year-old Charlotte Freeman, from Gainford, in Teesdale, County Durham.

She flew out to the South Pacific island in the Aitutaki Atoll at the end of July and spent the next 20 weeks filming the show.

Although she is unable to reveal details of what takes place, the former Staindrop Comprehensive pupil said she enjoyed the whole experience.

"I was absolutely delighted that I got onto it - it was the first show that I've ever applied for," she said.

"I'm not going to lie, sometimes I found it incredibly hard, I missed my home, my family, my twin sister, but generally the whole experience was great.

"I'd say 17 weeks out of the 20 were absolutely amazing."

The show features two competing teams on two separate islands, the Tigers and the Sharks.

Miss Freeman was one of the original members of the Tigers. Each week, a new castaway arrives and spends time with each team, before deciding which one he or she wants to join.

The team with the most castaways at the end of the show wins the £70,000 cash prize.

Miss Freeman, the youngest castaway, said the best part of the experience was the people she shared the island with.

"There were some disagreements in the beginning," she said. "But towards the end, we were really close.

"I made some absolutely brilliant friends and we'll all keep in touch, hopefully."

The show has been made by RDF Media, the production company which made Ladette to Lady, set at Eggleston Hall, also in Teesdale.

While the raunchy antics of some of the islanders have been highlighted by some newspapers, Miss Freeman insists she has not done anything to be embarrassed about.

She said: "It was quite daunting with the cameras at first, but you got used to them.

"It's going to be quite strange knowing that it's going out across the UK.

"But, oh God no, I've not done anything embarrassing," she added.

"I saw some clips on an interview about it the other day and, by the looks of things, they're showing me just how I was out there - I was just having a great time."

The show begins on Sunday at 12.55pm on Channel 4.