Fierce storms blew the roofs from their eco-friendly homes, causing several of the BBC castaways to flee the remote Scottish island of Taransay. A dose of flu meant lots more decamped to a hotel on the nearby island of Harris.

But yesterday, faced with the choice of returning to Taransay or losing their chance to take part in the BBC's millennium Castaway programme, the 12 distressed castaways went back to Taransay determined to make the show work.

Bad weather in the area held up the tricky operation to airlift the castaways back to Taransay. However, by midday, and with a break in the weather, eight castaways made the 10-mile trip from the Harris Hotel, where they had set up camp, to Horgabost beach where a helicopter was waiting to bring them back to their temporary island homes.

With the first stage of the return operation under way, however, the BBC producers were faced with another problem. One of the castaway families, Dr Roger Stephenson, his wife, Rosemary, and their children, Felix and Oliver, had yet to decide whether they would return to Taransay. They had left the island with another family suffering from flu and they had also expressed concern about the safety of the accommodation on Taransay.

At 9.30 a.m., with the other castaways preparing to leave Harris, there was still no word from Dr Stephenson and his family. The BBC Scotland press office did not know what was happening. However, by 1.30 p.m. the word came that the family were prepared to go back to Taransay.

"We are going over to the island today to sort out our accommodation," Dr Stephenson said in a statement. "We are positive and fully committed to the project. We'll be returning this evening to collect our belongings and the island's medical supplies and will be returning to Taransay on the first available transport."