What do reality TV contestants do about work while they are on the show?

[MedusasBadHairDay]

Just watching old episodes of Sewing Bee and started wondering what all those people do about their jobs while they're on the show? Do they work around it? Or have to take weeks and weeks off? If the latter then do they use annual leave or unpaid leave? IME very few employers are that forgiving of taking huge chunks of time off, so it just seems mad to me.

I think Bake Off is only filmed at weekends so time off work would be limited (obviously last year was a bit different due to COVID filming bubble so they would have had to have up to 6 weeks off). Don’t know if sewing bee is the same?

It depends a lot on the job. There’s a reason you see a lot of models, sales reps , self-employed and poker players. It’s easy for them to take the time off.

It would also come down to just who the person is and how they are in the company. The boss won’t want to get rid of a good employee just because they want a chunk of time off.

I think it depends on the show, sewing bee and bake off are very different to love island etc. For the love island or big brother contestants these days I think all hope to get media work straight after rather than returning to their old life

Bake off and sewing bee are normally (pre covid) filmed on weekends. Other shows people get a leave of absence or quit

Filming on weekends makes more sense! Contestants on sites like Sewing Be don't assume me as the type to quit their jobs in hopes of getting famous (though I'm aware I may be wrong and it's all in the editing)