What time is Hunted on tonight and how does the Channel 4 series work?

Members of the public are given the chance to experience life on the run in the high octane series Hunted, which returns tonight to.

, with four wannabe fugitives managing to scoop £25,000 each after making it to the end of the three-week-long process. 

The real-life thriller has been on Channel 4 since 2015 and sees ordinary people go on the run from a team of expert Hunters.

The Hunters are comprised of some of the top former and current police officers, led by Lisa Theaker – Assistant Chief Constable of Cleveland Police.

She’ll be joined by Special Heads of Ops Marc Cananur and Deputy Ray Howard.

Tonight’s opener will see the 11 contestants set off from the Isle of Wight as they have to attempt to make their way off the island as a helicopter surveys them. 

But will any of them manage to remain undetected from the Hunters and make it all the way to the end of the process? 

What time is Hunted on tonight?

Hunted begins tonight (Sunday, May 22) at 9pm on Channel 4, with each episode an hour long. 

The second episode airing tomorrow (Monday 23rd May) at the same time, with the remaining instalments airing at 9pm each Sunday.

There will be six episodes in total, which viewers can catch up with afterwards on the broadcaster’s streaming service, All 4.

How does Hunted work?

Each year, a small number of contestants are sent to go off on the run, to see how difficult it is to stay off the radar as a fugitive.

They are given very limited resources to aid their challenge, with last year’s contestants not even having a rucksack to take with them. This year, they will leave with only a change of clothes and a small amount of money.

The fugitives must avoid detection from the team of so-called Hunters, a group of current and former police and intelligence officials, for 23 days in order to win a share of a £100,000 prize pot.

The Hunters are able to use powers of the state such as ANPR, CCTV and call tracing to help catch the contestants. 

If they’re caught, their journey immediately comes to an end and they leave with nothing.

The finale sees any remaining contestants set off on a mission to reach a designated extraction point before being captured, which they are informed of just a few days before the process ends.

Around 50,000 people apply for the action-packed show each year, with just a few lucky applicants making it onto the programme. 

Series five saw pairs Dan Ryder and Hayley Morrison, and Ben Arrowsmith and Rob Ellington walk away with the cash, after making it to the extraction point in Anglesey, Wales. 

Hunted begins tonight at 9pm on Channel 4.