WILL NEW REALITY SHOW BE A BRIDGE TOO FAR?
From Trisha Goddard’s daughter to a stripper and a champion paddle-boarder, Jane Haase brings you the lowdown on new reality TV show, The Bridge
THERE’S no Big Brother this year and I’m a Celebrity is still weeks away, but this new reality show may help fans fill the gap.
It’s more akin, however, to the likes of Castaway 2000 and Shipwrecked.
Filmed in North Wales, a dozen strangers are brought together by a picturesque lake to be issued with a challenge – they have 20 days in which to build an 850ft bridge from the bank to an island, where the cash prize of £100,000 has been stashed.
There will be other challenges along the way, designed to provoke moral dilemmas, spark rivalries and put the team dynamic under threat. If the group successfully construct the bridge, they must decide between them who is most deserving of the money.
The winner then has a big choice to make – keep it all for themselves or share it.
Narrated by Hollywood star, James McAvoy, the line-up of contenders includes TV presenter Trisha Goddard’s publicist daughter, Billie Dee Gianfrancesco.
The London-based 30-yearold struggled with drug and alcohol addiction five years ago, but has since become an advocate for addiction and mental health issues after getting clean and sober.
She explains why she decided to take part in
the show: “All
I’ve done for the last eight years is work, I saw the callout for the show and thought ‘what the hell?’
“I felt like the universe was giving me a sign, so I signed up.”
She describes herself as a “very strategic thinker, a very good problem-solver” and admits her mum is a bit apprehensive about her taking part.
“She’s nervous because obviously we know nothing about the show,” says Billie. Also competing in
The Bridge is 26-yearold Zac, from Surrey. A trained dancer and an acrobat, he works as a stripper for the Dreamboys.
Zac says: “I bring a whole lot of charisma and I like to think I’m quite fun. Skills-wise, I’m an acrobat and a dancer and very physically intelligent. I’m a problem-solver too, I like things that test my brain.”
Others contestants include a PE teacher, a restaurant manager and paddle-boarder Sarah, from Wirral.
Ex-military, she is ranked second in the UK in the paddle board endurance series and runs her own paddle board business. She admits she doesn’t have a clue what the show involves.
“I get phone calls asking questions like can you horse ride, ride a bike?,“she says.
“But I keep saying, ‘they’re not going to kill me; they’re not going to put me in any danger’, So, let’s go for it.”
The Bridge starts tonight on Channel 4 at 9pm
Billie Dee Gianfrancesco