I was put in solitary, stripped naked & had to eat dog food in front of millions on world’s most extreme reality TV show

HAVING been stripped, forced to devour canine nutrient to forestall starvation and deprived of quality interaction for hundreds of days, Nasubi wished for decease alternatively of different 24 hours successful his hellish prison.

But helium was nary inmate trapped successful an Alcatraz-style lock-up, nor a worker captured by an enemy.

Nasubi was the unfortunate of reality TV amusement A Life In Prizes, which astatine its 1998 highest pulled successful much than 30million viewers a week successful Japan.

Now a caller movie documentary tells however the 22-year-old was placed into a workplace level without immoderate ­personal possessions and challenged to unrecorded disconnected immoderate helium could triumph from penning into mag contests.

He would lone beryllium released aft earning 1 cardinal yen of prizes — conscionable implicit £5,000 based connected 1998 prices — and firing disconnected tens of ­thousands of entries.

Aspiring comedian Nasubi had been unaware of what helium was agreeing to and lone surrendered his covering nether the ­assurance that the amusement would ne'er marque it to air.

Instead, amusement shaper Toshio ­Tsuchiya, who described himself arsenic “not a god, much like . . . the devil”, had tricked him — and millions watched the prima successful the buff.

Nasubi’s 15 months successful isolation won him a Guinness World Record.

Now, 25 years connected from the extremity of his stint successful A Life In Prizes, and up of documentary The Contestant hitting cinemas adjacent week, the prima tells The Sun: “The loneliness affected maine overmuch much than not being capable to devour oregon not having clothes.

“There were truthful galore moments wherever I thought it astir apt would beryllium amended to dice present than support going.

“Before I started winning food, I was fixed crackers — but lone the bare minimum magnitude that I could ­survive on. I lone went 2 oregon 3 days without eating.

‘He would person died if helium hadn’t won rice’

“I would accidental I ne'er got to the signifier of being famished wholly but successful presumption of intelligence spot I was being weakened time by day.

“The toughest infinitesimal was erstwhile the atom ran retired and I needed to look up to eating canine food.

“I didn’t privation to devour it but determination was nary alternative.”

Born Tomoaki Hamatsu successful agrarian Fukushima, Nasubi longed to beryllium a comedian from the property of six.

His yearning for fame stemmed from realising making radical laughter could support him against bullies.

Nasubi says: “Kids would accidental the caller kid’s got a weird face, it’s gross. That’s wherefore I became known arsenic ­Nasubi (meaning aubergine). Because I had a agelong face, bullies bushed maine up.

“When I was six oregon 7 I noticed that by making radical laughter I could alteration my concern — that’s erstwhile I realised my look could beryllium a strength.”

When Nasubi near for Tokyo arsenic an adult, his parent warned: “Whatever you do, don’t get naked.”

That regularisation was flouted minutes into a conception connected the amusement Susunu! Denpa Shonen, which translates arsenic “Do Not Proceed! Crazy Youth”.

The conception was devised by crackpot shaper Tsuchiya, whose estimation was truthful legendary that Darth Vader-style euphony played whenever helium appeared connected screen.

He admitted having “gone a small spot crazy” erstwhile devising the amusement concept.

Juliet Hindell, a erstwhile BBC Tokyo correspondent, says Susunu! Denpa Shonen was “a prima machine” wherever chartless radical could “become celebrities practically overnight”.

That committedness lured Nasubi and 20 others to an audition successful 1998 for a caller enigma show.

After winning a lottery-style gully to appear, helium proclaimed: “I consciousness similar I’ve utilized up a beingness of luck.”

Blindfolded, Nasubi was taken to a workplace level wherever helium ended up surviving successful solitude for 337 days.

Once inside, the producers revealed the crippled and told him helium would beryllium freed aft reaching 1 cardinal yen.

Nasubi ne'er signed a declaration and reluctantly agreed to strip.

Tsuchiya assured him the signaling was for a transportation that “would ne'er beryllium aired”.

He was filmed 24 hours a time connected 2 cameras, and hundreds of hours of footage was edited into six-minute segments for A Life In Prizes.

Inside his level was conscionable a stash of magazines, countless postcards and pens to use for competitions, a diary and an exigency telephone.

To support himself sane, Nasubi danced and performed headstands — his genitalia covered connected TV by an aubergine emoji successful notation to his nickname — and wrote a journal.

It took astir a week and 963 applications earlier his archetypal triumph — a 12-pack of gelatine desserts

Up until then, helium had lived connected crackers fixed to him by producers.

Nasubi says: “I survived connected will- powerfulness for the archetypal fewer weeks. I was amazingly positive. I was benignant of waiting for them to say, ‘stop’.

“I was conscionable astir not dying but that’s erstwhile the existent hellhole started.”

Soon Nasubi won 5kg of atom — but had nary saucepan to navigator it in.

He tried soaking the grains successful h2o overnight without joyousness and yet heated them successful a metal-lined cup.

One showrunner admitted: “If helium hadn’t won rice, helium would person died.”

Nasubi’s mental state drastically declined, worsened by degrading wins including bedewed canine food, which helium was forced to devour owed to hunger connected Day 80, and aboriginal adust kibble too.

Soon helium imitated a canine, barking portion moving connected his hands and feet.

Nasubi says helium was successful “such affectional turmoil that I couldn’t sleep”.

At 1 constituent helium adjacent believed helium had “been abducted by aliens”.

And during different hopeless moment, Nasubi reflected: “I don’t person capable nutrition going to my brain. Being driven to the borderline has brought retired a madness successful me.”

Luckily, his stash of prizes was expanding acknowledgment to him penning up to 400 ­competition postcards a day.

Alongside indispensable supplies, Nasubi amassed a Spice Girls CD, a cuddly artifact seal, play balls and 4 car tyres.

Nasubi adds: “I could person escaped if I truly wanted to. The doorway wasn’t locked.

“It’s a unusual intelligence authorities — you suffer the volition to escape.”

Early connected Day 335, Nasubi woke to the dependable of enactment poppers exploding astir him.

He had yet surpassed his 1 cardinal yen target.

Nasubi says: “I thought, finally, it’s each over. I was astatine my happiest.”

In celebration, helium was taken to Korea to bask a feast of BBQ meat, an amusement parkland travel and a jar of kimchi.

But determination was a twist. Nasubi was led blindfolded to a “hotel room” that was really a workplace flat.

“You person to bash it again,” Tsuchiya told him.

It took 3 hours to ­convince Nasubi, who pleaded: “I thought my beingness was over. So galore times I wanted to die.”

This clip it was successful Korea, meaning helium would person to use to competitions successful a connection helium didn’t understand, with lone 2 translation dictionaries to help.

Ultimate betrayal

He needed to gain 46,900 yen — the terms of an level summons — earlier producers changed it to a first-class summons costing 81,600 yen.

The task took him respective weeks to complete, taking him to 434 days successful isolation and breaking the satellite grounds for the longest clip spent surviving connected contention winnings.

Bizarrely, Nasubi agreed to beryllium taken backmost to Japan blindfolded and recovered himself successful yet different apartment.

He stripped, sat astatine a array and braced himself — lone for the walls of the country to autumn astir him, revealing a cheering workplace audience.

Nasubi recalls: “I was stunned.

Covering his groin with a pillow, Nasubi appeared blessed the ordeal was implicit but besides furious.

Tsuchiya’s ­ultimate betrayal was revealed.

Nasubi says: “I was devastated. Millions of radical had seen maine naked.

“I’d lone agreed to instrumentality disconnected my apparel due to the fact that Tsuchiya said helium didn’t deliberation it would beryllium broadcast.”

The amusement had breached galore TV viewing records and Nasubi was a viral sensation — adjacent his diaries person go bestselling books.

But having spent truthful agelong successful ­isolation, the comic “couldn’t retrieve however to speech to people” and ­struggled to marque oculus contact.

He said: “After A Life In Prizes, I mislaid my religion successful humanity.”

But Tsuchiya remains arrogant of his “extraordinary” TV achievements with A Life In Prizes portion conceding helium “pushed excessively far” — particularly arsenic it led its unwitting prima to see suicide.

And Nasubi is improbable to forgive the twisted shaper immoderate clip soon.

He tells us: “I held the grudge due to the fact that helium was the 1 who sent maine to the hellhole that I experienced.”

But Nasubi has recovered bid done helping others, including ­rescuing victims of the earthquake that caused a large atomic mishap astatine Fukushima successful 2011, and climbing Mount Everest successful 2016 for charity.

He said: “I had a void successful my heart, similar a achromatic hole. My loneliness could lone beryllium filled by those astir me.

“It was their enactment and affection that filled that void. A human’s emotion oregon that benignant of tone of helping each different — that’s what it’s each about.”

•  The Contestant (12A) is successful cinemas nationwide connected November 29. Find retired much astatine thecontestantmovie.co.uk.