Reality bites Janice Butler chooses her favourite TV reality shows of the moment
As we continue to look at the best of what’s on TV at the moment, if you want pure escapism, Janice Butler has chosen the best from the world of reality TV
Bake Off – The Professionals, Channel 4 & All4
The thought of Bake Off always gives a warm, fuzzy feeling and isn’t that what we need most at the moment? After a Celebrity Bake Off in aid of Stand Up to Cancer, we’re now onto
The Professionals, an automatic and massive improvement in ability. These teams of pastry chefs create sweet things we’ve never even dreamed of, but would absolutely love to taste. As the series nears the end, go to All4 to catch up on the whole, delicious series.
Love is Blind, Netflix
I didn’t want to like this but it took just one episode to get me hooked. I’m ashamed to admit that I watched the entire series over a weekend and I’m still yearning for more. The show was regularly the most watched Netflix show in Ireland, but if you’ve avoided it so far, then give in and treat yourself to some serious drama. The premise is simple: a group of singletons go to the
Love is Blind hotel – we’re not sure where this is – and with the guidance of hosts Vanessa and Nick Lachey (he was part of another reality show with his former wife, Jessica Simpson), the contestants are hoping to find the love of their life and a potential husband or wife. They go on ‘blind’ dates in windowless personal pods, so they never see what their matched date looks like until someone proposes and the wall comes down. Then they have to spend a month living together, preparing for their wedding and on the big day, decide if they’re actually going to go through with it. It’s as crazy as it sounds but it’s utterly unmissable.
Pretty Single, BBC
In a world obsessed with image, everybody wants to put their best face forward. Pretty Single, a new dating show, sees six image-obsessed singletons ditch their make-up to try to find a love connection that’s more than skin deep. Each week, the six – Patricia, Mando, Ali, Séan, Michaela and Pamela – embrace a unique dating experience, going on five dates with five different guys, completely make-up free. All the girls are helped to prepare for their dates by fashion designer and stylist, Nathan Palmer, who dresses each with a simple, bespoke black dress geared to their individual personalities.
Too Hot to Handle, Netflix
Definitely not going to win prizes, but I couldn’t write about reality TV right now and not include this one. Netflix’s version of Love Island should have been brilliant but it failed to create enough drama to make an impact. It seems like the producers realised halfway through that they had picked the wrong mix of contestants but it was too late to go back. As with Love Island, these ‘sexy’ singles are brought to a tropical beach resort, allowing for lots of bikini and torso shots. They are here to find love but there’s one big catch – they can’t touch each other in any way or they diminish the prize pot. It’s as bad as it sounds, but if you need to switch off from our reality at the moment, this is the place to go.
Making the Cut, Amazon Prime Video
There’s always a new fashion reality show to obsess over, but Amazon Prime’s Making the Cut is trying to break the mould. Hosted by Heidi Klum and Tim Gunn, the show follows 12 designers from all over the world as they try to win $1 million and create an exclusive line for Amazon. Even better, all the looks from each episode will be on sale immediately, exclusively on Amazon.
Super Garden, RTÉ One & RTÉ Player
Has there ever been as much interest in gardening as there is now? If you’re lucky enough to have an outdoor patch, then it’s time to get some tips from the budding designers in Super Garden. This year the format is different: we still have five visionaries who transform an ordinary garden (all five are in Rolestown in north Co Dublin) into a showstopping creation. For the first time, the designers are competing directly alongside each other. Not only will they all be working closely together geographically, but they will also have to help each other plant their respective gardens.