Wright gets to heart of Pilbara lifestyle

The Pilbara will soon be featured on a new reality TV series which takes a young British TV personality off the beaten track. The UK film crew chose Karratha as the first stop for the series featuring former The Only Way is Essex star Mark Wright.

The series produced for ITV is called Wright Off the Beaten Track, and places the reality TV personality in Karratha to put on a party with a local and experience life living in the Pilbara. Series producer Guy Templeton said Wright had no idea what destinations he would travel to during the series. “He’s been living in his Essex bubble essentially and the idea is for him to think, where in the world have they taken me,” he said.

Templeton said he chose Karratha because of the interesting way of life. “The mining thing was very interesting and the idea that it’s a working town and it’s a place tourists don’t usually go. People come here literally to work,” he said. Wright lived with local Kats football player Jackson Davey. Templeton said Davey was chosen for his character. “He fits the working bloke’s lifestyle, has lots of friends, he’s very Australian. I don’t even think Mark has heard of Aussie rules,” he said. Davey said they wanted to show Wright what it was like to live in the Pilbara. “We took him camping, showed him around the area and he played a game of footy. He had a great time,” he said.

On June 13, to mark the end of his time in the region, Wright threw a graduation party at Karratha Kats Football Club for Davey’s friend Antony Radunovich. The series will air in the UK this October.