Back in 2000 when reality TV was in its infancy, Hatch, now 45, attracted a lot of attention. The $1m prize for the winner of Survivor: Borneo was one of the largest ever offered on a prime time TV show, and Hatch, a corporate trainer from Rhode Island, became an instant watercooler favourite when he was dubbed "the fat naked guy" by American talkshow host David Letterman.

Six years on, the naked guy with the paunch and a penchant for running without clothes is still making headlines in relation to his prize.

Hatch started a 51-month federal jail sentence in Oklahoma City last week for failing to pay taxes on his prize money and other income.

The judge handing out the prison term said he had handed down a harsher than usual sentence because he believed Hatch had repeatedly lied on the witness stand during his trial in January. The maximum punishment in the US for such charges is 13 years.

Before his sentencing Hatch told the judge he had been "completely truthful and completely forthcoming throughout the entire process".

Earlier on in the proceedings, the reality TV celebrity had refused a plea bargain which would have seen him get much less hard time.

As well as the original tax liability on his $1m Survivorwinnings, Hatch now faces enormous penalties for not having paid up on time. But Hatch's lawyer, Michael Minns, claims his client cannot afford to pay.

Minns has also been campaigning for Hatch to be moved from the Oklahoma jail to one nearer his family in Rhode Island. The openly gay Hatch has one adopted son who lives there. Prior to his sentencing, he had been held at a county correctional facility closer to home in Massachusetts.

"He should be in a camp [low-security prison], " Minns recently told reporters. "The camps are the most comfortable of the uncomfortable.

They are still jails, but they get to see the sky and be outside. It's bad for Richard who's an outdoor person."

Early on in the trial, Dirk Been, a fellow member of the Survivor: Borneo cast, told reporters he was perplexed at Hatch's belief that he could escape paying taxes on his winnings.

"I really have no idea what he could possibly be thinking, in terms of how he could get away with this, " Been said.