A FORMER Darlington resident who gained worldwide fame by ‘selling his life’ on eBay is appearing in a television series.

Ian Usher, a former Barnard Castle School pupil from Darlington, sold his house, car and even his friends on the internet auction site following the breakdown of his marriage in 2008.

After raising £192,000 from the sale, Mr Usher, who had emigrated to Australia in 2002, went on to attempt 100 challenges across the world in 100 weeks before buying a small Caribbean island to live on.

He transformed the uninhabited, overgrown island into his own Caribbean paradise and his unconventional lifestyle is being featured in the Channel 5 series New Lives in the Wild.

The show follows presenter Ben Fogle as he spends a week living with Mr Usher and his partner Vanessa Anderson to experience the highs and lows of life on their remote island in a relatively undeveloped part of Panama.

The program explores their day to day lifestyle, the local ex-pat community and their thoughts about living life outside the confines of mainstream society.

Mr Usher, who has written two books about his adventures and sold the film rights to his story to Walt Disney Pictures, will feature in the programme on February 21.