THE secret location where Network Ten will film its version of the hit American reality series Survivor this year is a remote island off the coast of Malaysia, sources say.

Contestants will endure a couple of months of rough living and endurance challenges on Pulau Tiga, west of Sabah in the Kimanis Bay, it’s understood.

The location is the same one used for the very first US season in 2000.

While it will be presented to viewers as a deserted and isolated spot, the island is actually home to a resort, a campsite, restaurant and national park.

Early work is underway on the series — the first Australian instalment since Seven’s celebrity spin-off in 2006, which followed Nine’s adaptation of the format some 13 years ago.

Key production hires have been made, sources reveal, including Trent Pattison who headed up the challenge team on I’m A Celebrity … Get Me Out Of Here! last year.

Pattison has also worked on several seasons of the US version of Survivor.

It’s understood filming will begin sometime in March and run for almost three months. The show will air towards the back end of the year.

Beverley McGarvey, the network’s chief programming officer, said picking a spot used for a previous series was deliberate.

“We’ll end up collecting an island location — most likely a location that has had a series of Survivor shot there before,” she confirmed in a recent interview. “Just because bringing that expertise to the table is really critical.”

Expect it to look and feel like the American show — its producers have been enlisted to help make the local version.

“They’re really involved,” McGarvey said.

“We think the purity of the concept is something that will really resonate with Australian audiences.”