Tomoaki Hamatsu, better known as Nasubi, a comedian who appeared on the extreme Japanese game show ‘A Life In Prizes’, has given very painful details of his 15-month ordeal, which included being videotaped eating dog food, being held in total seclusion, and having to compete in tasks to survive. The show, which debuted in 1998, attracted up to 30 million people at its height and became an international hit.

Nasubi, who stayed naked during the broadcast, was locked in an empty apartment and had to win prizes to meet basic needs like food. He was unaware that his actions were being broadcast to millions across Japan. His story is now featured in a Hulu documentary titled The Contestant.

“I came across his story when I was working on a different project and got lost down one of those internet rabbit holes,” Clair Titley, director of The Contestant, told BBC.

“But I found that a lot of what I had come across was almost derogatory. Nothing had really talked about Nasubi’s story in depth. [I had] all these questions, such as, Why did he stay in there, and what effect it had on him. So I contacted him with that premise, that I wanted to make a film about his experience.”

Nasubi, who is now 48, claimed that he was left feeling nervous and confused by the lack of information provided by the producers. Only a phone for emergencies was provided to him, and he had to write 300 sweepstakes entries every day to win necessities like crackers, which prevented him from going hungry. It took him three weeks to earn his first reward.

Nasubi admitted that, while initially excited, he soon became overwhelmed by the loneliness and isolation. “The hardest part was definitely the loneliness,” he said, adding that he struggled to overcome it.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his rumoured partner, former Olympic gymnast Alina Kabaeva, have two sons-ages five and nine-according to the Dossier Centre, a report in Forbes claimed. The outlet has attributed the info to a Russian investigative organisation that cited unnamed sources who claimed to regularly see the children.

The portal claims that the couple’s children are growing up in a highly secured residence in complete privacy. The boys live a solitary existence away from the spotlight and seldom see their parents.

Also Read | Vladimir Putin Buys Luxury Mansion, Shares It With “Girlfriend” Alina Kabaeva: Report

Mr Putin, 71, has declared in public that he is the father of two daughters, Maria, 39, and Katerina, 38, with his former spouse Lyudmila Putin, whom he wed in 1983.

The Dossier Centre claims Ms Kabaeva and Mr Putin started dating in 2008, which was six years prior to the official end of his divorce from Lyudmila. According to the report, Ms Kabaeva, 41, gave birth to Ivan in a maternity centre in Lugano, Switzerland, and to Vladimir Jr in Moscow.

Both Ivan and Vladimir Jr live in Mr Putin’s mansion northwest of Moscow, though they have no interaction with other children their age, the Dossier Centre report claimed, and they receive music lessons and have personal trainers for swimming and artistic gymnastics.

Ivan has reportedly competed in artistic gymnastics competitions and often plays in hockey matches with his father.

Last year, a report about Russian President Vladimir Putin secretly spending millions on his girlfriend to buy big properties for her and their young children came out. The Telegraph claimed that the leader allegedly funnelled millions in illicit funds to buy a big mansion and a large penthouse for his girlfriend, Alina Kabaeva.