Naked jungle survival to ‘real-life’ Lord of the Flies & bizarre Prince Harry dating game… weirdest reality shows ever
FROM tearful confessionals to epic confrontations, the world of reality TV has given us some of the most memorable moments in showbiz.
But just when we think we have seen it all, a new show springs up, with another bonkers concept that leaves us baffled.
This week, it was announced that Rylan Clark is set to front a wild new dating show where contestants go fully nude.
Dating Naked will follow a bunch of singletons as they look for love while staying in a luxury villa in Colombia.
In each episode, a hopeful is eliminated, and the eventual winners are eligible to win a £50,000 prize pot.
One contestant from the show told The Sun that a lot of raunchy shenanigans take place. Lauren, from Hertfordshire, admitted that she had a lot of sex during filming.
The show has already ruffled feathers, with some critics calling for an end to all reality shows that focus on nudity.
It will air on Paramount+ on August 23 and has been compared to Love Island on “steroids.”
While nude dating may not be for everyone, it certainly isn’t the most bizarre reality show. Here, we look at some of the weirdest ideas to have reached our screens.
Best Funeral Ever
Few countries can compete with the United States when it comes to unsettling reality shows.
Best Funeral Ever began airing on the TLC network in 2013 and was centred around the Golden State Funeral Home in Dallas, Texas.
While burials are usually sombre occasions, the funeral parlour encourages bereaved families to have a party and give their deceased an extravagant send-off.
One memorable episode featured the funeral of Ronnie Ray Smith, who won a gold medal at the 1968 Summer Olympics.
His ceremony featured his casket running a 100-yard dash before his mortal remains were awarded with a gold medal after his coffin was propped onto an Olympic-style podium.
Ray was 64 when he died in a Los Angeles hospice.
Another episode saw the family of a deceased bowler send her casket down a lane to hit one last strike.
I Wanna Marry Harry
This show was so baffling that network bosses yanked it off air after just four episodes in 2014.
It featured 12 American women who were tricked into believing they were competing for the affection of Prince Harry.
As if that was not bizarre enough, the prince in question was a man called Matthew Hicks, who had been given possibly the worst Prince Harry makeover known to man.
Not surprisingly, many contestants did not buy into the idea that the bachelor was the Duke of Sussex.
Critics panned the show, with one calling it “fodder for the braindead”. In the UK, ITV2 aired the series in its entirety.
Bridalplasty
Presented by beauty queen Shanna Moakler, this 2010 series saw 12 soon-to-be brides compete for a makeover and plastic procedures before their wedding day.
Each woman had a plastic surgery wish list and was given tasks to complete. Every week, the winner received one procedure off her list, performed by Botched’s Dr Terry Dubrow.
The winner of the series got her entire wishlist fulfilled and the wedding of her dreams fully paid for.
Bridalplasty was widely slammed for promoting plastic surgery and “pushing the limits of medical ethics”. The American Society of Plastic Surgeons was not happy with it as it banned surgeons from performing operations as a prize.
It was also a ratings flop – It premiered on the E! Network with 900,000 viewers and lost 300,000 as the series progressed.
Game of Clones
When starting a new relationship, one of the best advice you can get is to be yourself. However, Channel 4‘s Game of Clones basically asked us to throw that out of the window.
Narrated by Benidorm star Adam Gillen, single people looking for love were asked to use computer software to create their ideal partner.
They then moved in with eight people given makeovers to match the image. The clones were then eliminated until a perfect match was found.
Needless to say, the show, which premiered in 2017, failed to get a second season.
Born In the Wild
Expectant mum have many choices when it comes to giving birth, but the TLC network took it to a whole new level when it introduced Born In the Wild.
The show, which debuted in 2015, saw families choosing to give birth outdoors without the help of doctors, technology or modern medicine.
In one episode, an Amish couple decide to give birth outdoors in harsh winter conditions.
Incredibly, the suspense of the show hinged on seeing whether both mother and baby would survive.
Medical experts slammed the show, saying the methods and conditions in the show could contribute to infant mortality rates.
Reality TV salaries revealed
Towie:
Cast members are put into four pay bands based on their popularity.
Reality veterans Bobby Norris, James ‘Diags’ Bennewith, Georgia Kousoulou, and Chloe Sims were in the top tier, which meant they commanded £450 an episode.
Others were paid £350, £250 or £90 if they were a newcomer trying to prove their worth.
Geordie Shore:
The MTV show reportedly paid cast members £1,000-a-month for their wild antics in the early days of the show.
Veteran Sophie Kasaei revealed the cast had to work other jobs to supplement their income.
She said: “When we first started the show we got absolutely nothing.
“The most we ever got was £1000 a month and we couldn’t survive on that, obviously after tax as well.
“Most of us worked at the call centre because in Newcastle there’s a lot of call centres because we can sell you the dream, we’re very friendly and warm and trustworthy.
Gogglebox:
Each household is paid the same monthly allowance of £1,500.
A show insider revealed the fee is then split amongst contributors at their own discretion.
They also get to tuck into a free takeaway of their choice twice a week to keep them fuelled during long filming sessions.
The armchair critics have to watch 12 hours of telly a week in total – which is divided into two six-hour stints.
I’m A Celebrity:
The jungle show is a jewel in ITV’s crown with a bumper budget to boot. Payments are tailored to the individual, with the greater their fame or controversy factor, the bigger the cheque.
Nigel Farage reportedly bagged £1.5m for the last series – the most in its history.
While eventual series winner Sam Thompson was a snip at £80,000. This Morning’s Josie Gibson is said to have pocketed £100k while Britney’s sister Jamie Lynn received an impressive £250k.
Kid Nation
Lord of the Flies, the 1954 novel by British author William Golding, is one of the most critically acclaimed novels ever written and was made into a box-office movie.
But nobody saw the CBS reality show coming.
Heavily based on the tale of anarchy when kids rule the roost, it followed a group of 40 children aged between eight and 15 who were dropped off in New Mexico and left to fend for themselves.
They were tasked with forming their own society and establishing a government, with teams that took on chores like cooking and cleaning.
The 2007 show premiered to a barrage of criticisms and controversies. It also faced legal issues over how many hours the children were required to film daily.
Parents were made to sign a 22-page waiver that exempted CBS and the production team from accountability in the event of harm to the children.
Because of the backlash, advertisers began to pull out, resulting in the show’s cancellation after one season.
Naked and Afraid
Unlike many of the shows in this list, Naked and Afraid became a huge hit and is still running today.
In each episode, two naked survivalists meeting for the first time must survive in the wilderness for 21 days. They are allowed to bring only one helpful item, such as a knife or a firestarter.
They are also given cross-body satchels that have cameras for when the camera crew is absent. The production team is not allowed to intervene unless in serious medical emergencies.
The show premiered on the Discovery Channel in 2013 and has been in production ever since. It even has several spinoffs, including Naked and Afraid XL and Naked and Afraid: Last One Standing.
While it has been hugely successful, it has occasionally come under fire, with some contestants hinting that the locations used may not be as isolated as show bosses want viewers to believe.
Buying Naked
In America, there are communities where residents have the option of walking around in the buff.
That was the inspiration behind Buying Naked in 2014. It followed real estate agent Jackie Youngblood as she showed nudists properties in clothing-optional communities.
The series failed to spark up any interest and was axed after just one season.
However, it wins the prize for the most bizarre naked-themed episode titles. Some of the memorable masterpieces were “Nudey-wed’s First Home”, “Bowling in the Buff” and “Broadcast Nudes”.
Shakespeare would be quaking in his boots.