To think reality shows of the early 2000s have not aged well! Doing a rewatch

[Imcomingovertoyourplace]

So far I’ve watched
Playing it Straight (the homophobia is rife!)
Fat Families (just horrific, ‘lard busting’ and shaming overweight kids)
Big Fat Gypsy Weddings (did the producers never want to intervene with what is essentially child abuse?)

And I thought everyone realised not everyone has that level of intelligence! Come on - soap stars have been verbally abused in the street for having an affair or something when it was their character!

I think Bake Off was the start of a gentler sort of reality programme: still lots of fun and enjoyable but no humiliation or drama, just great cakes.

I remember an interview with a young woman who appeared on X Factor. She had a job on the side singing in bars as a Pink impersonator and was approached to say they thought she was great and why didn’t she do X Factor. She appeared and the judges were awful to her, and she became upset, lost her temper and shoved a member of production which clearly isn’t acceptable but she went into it thinking she was going to be a star and came out with a criminal record. Horrible really.

I didn't see any of these, but there was a pretty good one where people swapped jobs for a period, and after they'd learned the ropes a panel were invited to pick the one who was new to the task

I can't remember what it was called, but there was an amazing lass - a classical cellist - who learned to be an Ibiza DJ and was absolutely brilliant

Wasn't it a "Trouser" 😀 yes everyone of them had to look feminine

All 'reality' programmes are dire, cheap programme making. Some may start well with relatively normal people but then become the casting couch for wannabes!

I still think about that clear tube years later. I'm pretty sensible when it comes to food and body image, but if I've over indulged that tube does come into mind.

It was called Faking It @Puzzledandpissedoff and they’ve just remade it!

https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/may/20/faking-it-review-finally-a-tv-reboot-that-is-a-genuinely-great-idea

Maybe those places don't have problem schools or families and are so perfect???

I remember the first episode of Wife Swap with a thick racist couple swapping with a black couple. Car crash awfulness.

Oh God, yes, that episode with the poor toddler imprisoned in her cot was the worst.

I was literally thinking about that the other day - when Gok would give some poor terrified woman a make over.

Typically it was someone who hated make up, didn't like having her hair or nails done, lived in jeans and a t-shirt, along with trainers. Yet without doubt, Gok would ALWAYS style her in full glam, pretty much a bloomin ball gown and three inch heels.

I always wondered what happened afterwards, and whether anyone genuinely changed their style?

Supernanny - exploiting children.

I blame Supernanny and House of Tiny Tearaways for making me such an anxious first-time parent. Dr Tania was obviously 'better' than supernanny but both made me so paranoid that parenthood was going to be one long hell of terrible bedtimes and fussy eating.

I felt Gok's were very good and positive, he looked at proportion and raised women's self esteem and changed their perception of themselves, whereas What Not to Wear felt like two big girls from school ganging up, and involved ritual humiliation in a cupboard of mirrors to instil maximum self disgust. For those missing classic makeovers ( rather than surgery) nowadays, Trinny's Takeover on her YouTube channel is a really nice, positive ten minutes - like shopping with an encouraging friend and then a fantastic haircut.

There was one where the mum was racist and matched with an asian family, it did however completely change her views which was nice to see.

Now we have social media families telling us raising 7 children is flowers and sunshine and holidays with labradoodles and knitting sourdough while everyone simply thrives in tastefully matching pastel tones, and if you aren’t achieving this then goodness me what a failure you are.

Meet the new boss same as the old boss.

I remember this exact episode @Puzzledandpissedoff It was really interesting to see what goes into being a dj - it's not just pressing buttons, she needed to have a really good sense of rhythm, tempo etc.

I liked Faking It.

There was a good one too where they put a load of kids through a replica 1950s grammar school, and the next year through a 1960s secondary modern. They got to do dress making, brick laying and car mechanics!

I like the one where people lived as if they were in a Victorian / 1940s etc house.

Even the first series of Big Brother was interesting. I liked early seasons of The Apprentice too. I think all reality shows decline after one or two seasons.

I found Gok OK. At least he tried to improve the woman's self esteem and didn't push plastic surgery.

How about that one where they put ladettes through finishing school?!

Oh that's absolutely brilliant, PI242 ... thanks so much for clueing me in and I must definitely catch it

I found Gok OK. At least he tried to improve the woman's self esteem and didn't push plastic surgery.

I do agree with that take, but I also think he had a pre-concieved idea of what women should be wearing (hence forcing women who preferred jeans to wear ridiculous dresses). However, I do think he was very much "love the skin you're in, and make you feel good about yourself" rather than T&S and the awful 10 years younger lady.

Yes early Big Brother and Apprentice were a world away from what they became. Remember Craig from BB releasing a Christmas single that didn't do too badly? None of the modern BB crowd could aspire to that.

I remember another awful one, Dating in the Dark. They had three (?) blind dates (literally) and then the lights came on. Then they had to wait in a tiny bedsit think watching to see if the other person walked into the room or walked out the door with their wheelie suitcase. All terrible for self esteem.

I thought house of tiny tearaways was really good I know it was set up like a toddler big brother, but there was lots of good advice on it, Supernanny and her bloody naughty step though !

Oh God my housemate loved Supersize vs Superskinny. Absolutely batshit premise of a show. So you get one person who binges on junk daily and another that lives on energy drinks and a packet of crisps and swap their diets....why, exactly? What was the even vaguely plausible benefit? And that weird doctor, what a creep. He gave me a strong bad feeling, and I dont get that about many people.

I always see clips come up on TikTok and feel half nostalgic and half horrified.

The old-style 10 years younger was brutal! They must have had a huge budget for the amount of plastic surgeries some of them had. The narrator is always so rude about them too.

My favourite throw-backs are changing rooms, they destroyed so many rooms!