Take It Off? ITV’s Take Me Out in another faking scam
Another ‘scandal’ surrounding dating show Take Me Out reports that this time parts of the show have been faked.
Paddy McGuinness hosts Take Me Out for ITV.
The latest negative press is just one of a number in recent times. Several girls have alleged via The Mirror newspaper they were ordered by show producers to pretend they were interested in male contestants when they were not in order to add ‘drama’ to the programme. Those who resisted following the apparent orders were threatened with being axed from the show.
“Take Me Out was last night at the centre of claims ITV producers told contestants which partner to pick in an attempt to make more sensational viewing.” The newspaper states.
Some of the girls ‘outing’ the reported fakery claim that they have been left “humiliated and exploited” suggesting the game show is a sham. One former contestant told The Mirror, “The producers pulled some of the girls in and said, ‘If you’re waiting for George Clooney or Brad Pitt, they’re not coming’.
“They told us to keep our light’s on for the next contestant, who was more than 10 years younger than me. I refused and was taken off.”
The dating game, presented by Paddy McGuinness, has been at the receiving end of negative press for quite sometime and is often compared unfavourably to the former ITV dating series Blind Date, which ran for 18-years with Cilla Black as hostess.
Other complaints listed by the newspaper include a male contestant unhappy that girls later informed him they had been ‘banned’ from choosing him. A female contestant noted that she was asked to turn men down to ‘make better television’ while unappealing men were kept on the show longer by girls apparently asked to pretended they were interested in the male due to his eccentric performance – thus making fun of the participant.
The format of the show, produced by Thames Television, sees a single man try to impress 30 single women in order to win a romantic holiday and date. Girls show their interest in a male by leaving on their lights, if they put themselves in the dark it shows they’re not interested.
A Thames Television spokesperson said: “We strongly refute any claims that we tell the contestants how to act or how to respond.” Thames is part of the global media giant Fremantle which produce programmes such as soap opera Neighbours and talent contest The X Factor.
In January ITV has axed footage from the programme after producers discovered two winners in an edition were an escort and a former prostitute – one with a criminal conviction for assault.
ITV instantly called for a review of the procedures the production company undertook to select contestants after it was revealed male winner 32-year-old Aaron Withers works as a £50-an-hour ‘male escort’. It was also revealed that he failed to inform the production team of a conviction for assaulting a woman and her boyfriend last year.
Later in the month another expose revealed that Wen-Jing Mo, who was paired up with Aaron, once worked as a prostitute. 28-year-old Wen worked as a £200-an-hour hooker at the age of 18 the press reported. It was also reported in the same week that 90 contestants attended a two day long sex binge at a luxurious mansion in south Wales, in which the ‘sex party’ caused a small fortune in damage to the property.
Last month another duping story came to light when it was revealed a contestant on the show lead producers into believing he was single when he was about to get married. Damion Merry said he was unlucky in love and looking for Miss Perfect despite advanced plans to wed. A ‘friend’ close to Merry said it was likely the TV appearance was a ploy to further the 27-year-old’s modelling career.
And this month another faker was exposed when Daniel Haden appeared on the show as a bachelor despite having a girlfriend.
“Thinking back, I recalled how Dan had said it would be a laugh to go on the show if he was single. But he already had a girlfriend — me!” Haden’s girlfriend Sarah Patel told The Sun.
Take Me Out currently averages around six million viewers for ITV in its primetime Saturday night slot.
