The Bachelor SA: the naked truth

What goes on behind the scenes of a reality series like The Bachelor SA? We strip it down to its bare essentials.

The Bachelor SA proved popular before a single camera started rolling, explains M-Net’s head of local productions Lani Lombard: “We had more than 3 000 entries from women wanting to be contestants when we announced the show. That was before the identity of The Bachelor had even been revealed. After the first week, we slowed down the call-for- entry marketing as we were concerned by the speed at which the entries were still flooding in.”

BODY, MIND & SOUL

The team’s task got more intricate when they sifted through the entries. “The ladies had to go through a few interview rounds, a range of medical and psychological tests, as well as a background check,” says Lani. “We wanted contestants who’re genuine about finding a potential husband.” The 24 ladies who made it to the show also had specific dietary requirements that needed to be catered for – in total, over 3 000 meals were served while the 13 episodes were filmed.

DRESS TO IMPRESS

Bachelor Lee Thompson had 10 tailored suits for the season, plus his own wardrobe from home. “The ladies were told to bring clothes for all occasions – from swimsuits to cocktail dresses and everything in-between. One or two of them brought three suitcases full of clothes,” says Lani with a laugh.

CLAWS OUT

Tensions ran high between some of the contestants fighting for Lee’s attention but the crew of 90 had it under control, says Lani. “They are skilled in conflict resolution and there was a psychologist on standby to speak to the ladies and even Lee, if needed.” There was also a medic present at all times during filming in case of an emergency.

WILD CARDS

There won’t be any wild- card surprises like on the US version (2002- current). At least not now. “It’s our first season so we wanted to keep it authentic,” says Lani. “But we are twisting it a bit and fans [of the international version] will know what we’ve done.”

THE MAIN MAN #2

It’s not a free-for-all with hunky Lee – Jason Greer has been given the reins as the show’s presenter and will control the 13-episode season. Find out more about Jason on p5.

Host Jason Greer (left) watched as Lee handed out 560 roses during the season.

The Bachelor mansion is in Sandhurst in the north of Joburg and it was a process to find the perfect spot, says Lani. “It needed to meet our production requirements and be a suitable environment for the ladies to stay in. We rented the house while the owners were out of the country.” The production team wanted the series to have a true South African feel and gave the stylists the brief to work with a protea flower palette.

The infinity pool at the mansion was popular during a heatwave when the season started filming in late 2018.

Some of the dates are in places like Cape Town and “it’s a mammoth task logistically to plan these romantic getaways. The key was trying to keep it as exclusive and low-key as possible,” says Lani.

Over 360 metres of fairy lights were used in the season, explains Lani Lombard from M- Net, like for this date-night setting.