[Arneldo]

A contestant on the Bulgarian version of the reality TV show, Survivor, has died of a heart attack during filming at a beach resort in the Philippines.

Noncho Vodenicharov, 53, had just completed one of the challenges the competitors undertake to earn rewards and avoid being voted off.

A police report said two doctors on the set confirmed he had died instantly.

The Survivor contestants have to fend for themselves in remote locations, with a huge prize for the sole winner.

Mr Vodenicharov was the mayor of Radnevo. The town, in the south of Bulgaria, has declared five days of mourning.


Other reports said that, in his youth, Mr Vodenicharov had worked as a film stuntman.

The Survivor programme was originally devised in the UK, but many other countries now have their own versions.

The application form for the show says competitors must be "in excellent physical and mental health".

Contestants have to take part in a series of tough mental and physical challenges. It is not known which sort of challenge Mr Vodenicharov had undertaken when he died on Saturday.

The show was being filmed at a beach resort on the Caramoan peninsula in the eastern Philippines. Both the French and Israeli versions of Survivor had recently been recorded there.

BBC