Reality TV makes stars out of ordinary people
The latest fashion on British TV isRealityTV. Reality TV means that shows follow and film ordinary people in an artificial situation. This could be at work, or in some kind of competition.

One of the first and most popular Reality TV shows is Big Brother. In this show, 15 completestrangershave to live together in a house for 11 weeks. They are filmed 24 hours a day, and shown on television. Each week, the viewers vote toevictone of thehousemates. Finally, only one is left, and they win the prize money – 50 000 pounds!

The show was an instanthit, and runs in several countries. The housemates often become stars as a result of the show, and appear in national newspapers and on other shows.

Another very popular show is I’m aCelebrity– Get Me Out Of Here! In this show, 10 celebrities¹ are taken to the Australianjungle. They have to complete tasks each week, such as eating insects. The show is very expensive to make. The show cost 10 million pounds to make, but over 12 million people in Britain watched thefinale.

Reality TV is also big business in the United States. American Idol², which is similar to the Chinese Super Girl, is one example. In this show, thousands ofwould-be singersauditionin front of a panel³ of three judges.

Part of the attraction is that many of the singers are not very good – in fact, some areawful! The judges do not have to be polite, and are in fact usually very rude to some of the contestants⁴.

As the show progresses, viewers vote for their favourite singers and the number of singers goes down until only one is left. As a prize, they receive a recording⁵ contract with a major record company.

Reality TV is coming to China, too. The hit US show, The Apprentice⁶, featured thetycoonandmulti-millionaireDonald Trump⁷. In the new Chinese version, Wise Man Takes All, 16 would-be businessmen will present their ideas to the judges, and the best one will win 1 million Yuan to make their dream come true. Whatever happens, it seems Reality TV is here to stay.