Would you agree to be publicly humiliated for a huge amount of cash in front of millions of complete strangers? Reality television – the most popular genre in the medium by far – often involves low-grade bullying, manipulation and outright nastiness – playing out in plain sight. Reality television can be highly addictive, and the British public continues to adore the genre – so what does that tell you about our psyche? Has this form of popular entertainment become a cruel sport fed by failure and humiliation, with the public as collaborators?
Over the past two decades, programme makers’ drive for confrontation – by creating fake “enemies” and dramatic scenarios – both ratings boosters – means large audiences will sit passively and accept behaviour playing out in the living room they would not tolerate in their own lives. My mum and dad loved edgy TV entertainers like Rod Hull and Emu – the vicious puppet – but nowadays we scream in delight as a disgraced former cabinet minister attempts to eat a kangaroo’s willy while trying not to vomit live on national television.
As someone who has participated in reality shows like rity and , I wonder if it has made us oblivious to the erosion of “boundaries”? People are asking why Russell Brand was tolerated for years, and I think it’s because the public (myself included) have decided if something is entertaining and makes us laugh, then it’s acceptable and sod good taste.
“Celeb” – the most popular cross-generational reality show of them all over the past two decades is back on Monday night, and millions will tune in to enjoy the whimpering, moaning, retching and bitching of contestants who have to curry favour with the public in order to win votes. To do that, means parking all their inhibitions back at the luxury hotel.
To succeed in the brutal world of reality television, you have to be prepared to bare your soul on demand, share your fears and secret phobias- with a camera poking in your face, and viewers hanging on every word. I had to contend with Brian Harvey from East 17 farting in my face as I bent over the campfire doing the cooking. Paul Burrell droned on incessantly about the royal corgis weeing everywhere and how “normal” the Queen was. And who can forget Sinitta sobbing about bugs, or the girl from All Saints crying her eyes out because she thought the trees would “kill” her.
Why do we get such pleasure from female distress and male humiliation? In the new series, Wayne Rooney is tipped as the favourite to win – and he’s a veteran of the genre, having appeared in an at home series on Disney+. But he’s already owned up to being frightened of “things that live in the sea”, snakes and helicopters, so will he publicly crack and cry?
Rooney – who comes across as a genuine bloke – guarantees that the new series will be a success in the ratings. But other reality shows are struggling to make their mark as a debate rages about how far to push boundaries. Married at First Sight UK was recently cancelled after rape allegations from former contestants. A compelling new feature film, – starring Robert Pattinson- is a brutal satire on the exploitative world of reality TV. Pattinson plays TV host Chris Hansen of To Catch a Predator whose team ensnares paedophiles by chatting to them online pretending to be underage. Actors posing as kids entice the callers to come and meet them, but the local cops are on standby for an on-camera live arrest. Couldn’t happen here? News channels already broadcast predator footage of “paedo-hunters” tracking down their prey.
The murky world of is a long way off here, but embarrassment and objectifying remain key ingredients in many of the most popular formats. I’ve turned down reality series like – because I can’t cope with ritual humiliation. For some, it’s a chance to rebrand their image – former health secretary Matt Hancock needed a reputation cleanse after the discovery of his affair – and it doesn’t seem to have bothered Reform MP Suella Braverman.
The former Tory home secretary and current Reform UK spokesperson on education, skills and equalities has been paid £100,000 to appear on the celebrity version of Channel 4’s – which involves being handcuffed to someone chosen to be your polar opposite 24 hours a day. The show (featuring members of the public) aired earlier this year to lukewarm reviews. Hosted by Jonathan Ross, the channel claimed it would be “laugh-out-loud funny” and “gloriously awkward”. Critics called it “completely abysmal”, “nasty and crass”. Presumably none of that deterred viewers, otherwise there wouldn’t be a second series with celebrities like drag queen Bimini, DJ Fat Tony and Kerry Katona.
To get her £100,000, the Reform MP had to agree to be filmed 24 hours a day handcuffed to former glamour model Katie Price. I wonder how the people who voted for her in the last election will feel about her when they see her struggling to go to the toilet with Katie.
Is appearing in a vote-winner, a chance to explain your policies to a wider public? Or a chance to pocket £100,000 with the excuse – it’s just harmless entertainment?