What do sheepdog trials and bbqs have in common?

Well they are itvs latest two reality shows flockstars and bbq champ the former being with celebrities the latter with members of the public.

First thoughts neither will be coming back for a second series and who knows perhaps they will even be moved from their existing slots of 8.30pm on a thursday and 9pm on a friday. One has to wonder if there had been a pilot episode of each and if so how did they make it through to prime time television rather than starting out on day time television.

At least with the BBC a fair number of these types of shows started out on BBC2 before becoming cult like and moving across to BBC1 i.e. The Apprentice, British Bake Off and Masterchef.

A couple of weeks back there was reports that ITV felt that the BBC should not be allowed to chase ratings on a Saturday night with the voice and they should be the only channel that showed this type of program. Well if the quality of new output of this type of show on ITV remains this low then thankfully we have he BBC as a marker.

 

So whats the premise of each show.

• Flockstars

This is due to air over 8 weeks and sees a number of “celebrities” compete against each other in sheep dog trials. Each celebrity undergoes a series of training before being pitted against each other in a studio to see who can master herding either sheep, geese or ducks around a course.

Episode one pitted Brendan Cole he of Strictly fame with his assigned dog Hoggy against Amanda Lamb she of  A Place in The Sun fame (and apt name for the show) with her assigned dog of Midge.

In training Brendan appeared to struggle to get control of his dog due to prancing around as if he was dancing. Very cringe worthy tv!

The highlights of the actual trial in the studio being the opening of the trailer to reveal what type of animal was to be herded the voice over made it to appear more dramatic than it could ever be with the words “its the hebridians” (sheep) as if its was some gladiatorial conquest. The secod highlight was when the hebridians were brought out for Amanda Lambs attempt they proceeded to jump the barriers and attempt to escape from the studio. Im sure the studio audience would have loved to do the same and no doubt the viewers just pressed a button on their remote.

Presenting this show is Gabby Logan who no doubt will be questioning her agent at tis moment.

• BBQ Champ

This is itvs version of Great British Bake off but with bbqs presented by Myleene Klass and judges Mark Blatchford and Adam Richman. The contestants compete against each other and in teams using 2 bbqs each one closed for smoking and one open. All food prepared must be done on a combination of the two. The two least successful candidate are then pitched together in a grill off to see who would be eliminated. The winner receives a cheque for £25000.

Watching this show just gave me the hope of actually seeing amateur experts show what could be done on a bbq and not show my general attempts of ending up a burnt mess with everyone concerned about was it cooked. Unfortunately this was not the case with the contestants unsure of timings so there was raw chicken, extremely rare beef to charcol (burnt) offerings. Each contestant had to produce side dishes and rubs , one run being a home made cilly sauce that was as firey as could be, another contestant produced of all things yorkshire puddings.

The grill off pitted Kuldip Singh Sahota (Chilli Sauce Business Owner) against Emma Millest(co-member of Bunch Of Swines ) with Kuldip going home, neither really excelled in the challenge.

Other contestants on the show are Solomon Smith Founder of the Brixton Food Kitchen, Photographer Tony Smith @man_meat_fire proclaimed award winning BBQ chef to name but two.

Kuldips family business it would appear was chosen as a chilli sauce supplier to Asda after appearing in 2010 on another reality show BBC programme High Street Dreams. This was an ill fated affair and the contract was terminated within 9 months and the family business almost going under.

It looks like the BBQ Champ program is being used as a marketing spring board by the contestants no doubt fuelled by the success seen for some of the contestants on other reality show of this ilk though their offerings will need to in my opinion dramatically improve for this to become reality.

As for Myleene Klass as presenter , she seems a strange choice as I dont imagine her cooking over a BBQ perhaps poor advise from an agent.

No doubt the supermarkets will be busy this weekend with people once again stoking up on coals and meat products with either coal bbqs coming out of storeage or purchased. Lets hope a&e and doctors surgeries this weekend are not crowded with food posioning suffers.

Sam McDonald and Jack Finn-Kelcey were the couple that were matched in episode one but did not go through with the wedding due to Sam getting cold feet prior to the wedding supposedly because her family could not come to terms with her decision to marry.

It appears that through the power of social media the couple after the episode was shown were able to get in contact with each other and have found that they are a good match and are now dating.

Luckily for them they will be able to conduct the normal relationship process away from the cameras and without having first had the pressure of getting married.  Perhaps there is something in the whole matching process that had been devised for the show but due to the needs of todays television requiring a shock element the actual marriage part of the process is flawed. I wonder if there are dating agencies online or offline that have this matching approach and if they dont exist whether it could work.

As for Jason Knowles he who became the series rogue due to the way he was shown to have treated Kate after their wedding he has told his side of the story. It would seem he believes at part of the selection process they were given pictures of people to rate and he had Kates picture to rate and gave her a score of 2 out of 7. It is his belief that they had been told that they would not be matched with people who they had scored so low and also the question of Kates relationship hate of not dating smokers made them non compatible. It would seem (perhaps cruelly) whilst on honeymoon he had more fun talking to the barman than kate. As for  tinder well he is adament he only downloaded it as part of a but of fun with a friend and he had only signed up once he knew the relationship was over. So the question still remains as to how was the program edited and was it edited in such away to make Jason look to be bad. Only the producers, Kate and Jason know this.

So the final episode of Channel 4s program Married at First Sight focussed on the Honeymoon , 5 weeks of living together and decision of whether to stay together or divorce of the two couples James and Emma and Kate and Jason.

• Kate and Jason

They admitted they spent the honeymoon night in the same bed.

They honeymooned in Ireland and had a honeymoon that centered around tehir shared interest of fitness.

Kate admitted they felt instantly comfortable with each other Jason felt the same and thought is was a good, nice and normal sign.

Jason admitted there was an attraction and he could develop deeper feelings for her, Kate thought they were both up for it but hinted at caution to see what would happen. (had something twigged a doubt in her)

• James and Emma

They admitted they spent the honeymoon night together but they kept what actually happened private.

They honeymooned in Iceland. They seemed to get along very well and interacted well together.

Anna Machin the expert discussed attachment theory and said James was classified as preoccupied and Emma as dissmissive avoidant. Dissmissive avoidants find it diffcult to be close to people and struggle with intimacy and keep people at arms lengths. Preoccupied people are anxious overall not necessarily about the relationship.

Emma admitted on the honeymoon she found elements of James very attractive but did not know if there was a connection and thought perhaps at that stage she should know. James thought the relationship was either a slow burner and that they would ever fall into close friendship or become solid.

 

Both couples for the time of living together moved into a flat supplied by Channel 4.

Unfortunately Kate and Jasons flat was not available whe hey came back so Kate decided to stay initially at Jasons flat share,

During the living together;

• Kate and Jason

A week after getting married Jason admitted he found her attarctive but he struggled with physical side but would not say more. Its hard to understand what he alluded to ie he wanted a physical relationship and she didnt or he did not find her physically attractive.

Kate admitted she did not know how she felt as he could come across as quite cold.

 

The relationship looked to be in trouble.

A week after their honeymoon their flat was ready and they started packing to move in, kate seemed down she said she was excited and wanted to get to know him more, but was uncertain how they both feel. Jason said out of the whole experience he was feeling scared and vunderable and was uncertain, he worried there was not much of an attraction. Kate had sort of sensed it, he was not being affectionate where as she is and she did not know how to take that. Jason said he would move in with an open mind an see how it would go.

At this point reading between the lines it was clear he was only doing for the program and it was not what he wanted, obviously we dont know what he finds attractive in a girl but kate certainly did not come across as someone that was unattractive and it seems strange he was not wanting to at least try. In life i guess you go often with your gut instinct and have learnt from your past what is right for you.

Jason moved in first and unpacked some of his clothes in the spare bedroom, when Kate arrived he tried to explain to her about getting up early and not disturbing her when getting ready for work. Kate appeared very closed standing there talking to him with arms folded, it was clear when she spoke to camera she knew things were not right between them and was obviously feeling rejected. It would be nice to know what actually happened between them from the first night back after honeymoon and the day they moved in together I get the feeling they did not really interact with each other and presume Jason stopped that.

Kate and Jasons first house meal appeared an awkward affair they seemed to have a dont mind , perhaps, discussion on whether they should open a bottle of champagne, they did not appear to be preparing food together or interacting very well. Jason a few hours later asked for filming to cease.

Obviously filming did start at some point, it was mentioned that Kate and Jason were not spending any time together and were confiding in video diaries. Jason admits Kate is beautiful and when asked by Kate did he find her attractive he said yes but said he could not say anything else and would man up.

Kate was preparing food and said they had agreed to talk things through but he did not turn up. She wondered why he chose to do the experiment. It then appears they had both contacted the expert Jo Coker, though one wonders if this was setup by the production company and they both agreed to meet her to discuss things together. Unfortunately Jason did not turn up. Kate in talking with Jo thinks the camera had affected him and he had not tought this through when agreeing to take part, however when the cameras are not around there is still nothing. Jo Coker was surprised this had happened so quickly and thought all was not lost.

Jason explained on camera why he did not go the meeting, it had been a stressful week, a late friday night and he was not in a good place and it would not have worked with him feeling like that.

The camera then focussed on Kate who was across town hoping to meet up, however she was shocked to recieve a text from her friend as she had found Jasons profile on tindr and he had been active within the last few minutes so was at their flat on the site rather than meeting her, Kate showed her hand minus wedding ring and she said she was done.

After rwo weeks of marriage Kate and Jason were over and did not meet again they moved back to their respective accommodation. Kate spoke on camera and suggested she tried to get him through out their honeymoon and he was only affectionate as if following the book at the right times but nothing else. Jason did not feel the relationship and was why there was nothing there and the cameras would not have been an issue if there had been something there. Json felt the experience was worth doing.

• James and Emma

James and Emma had an evening out socialising with her friends. James seemed capable of mixing with them. Emma was unsure where their relationship was at was it friends or maybe more at that stage she thought she was in no mans land.

James and Emma first house meal, they seemed to work well together and seemed to be getting om the worked on preparing it together and had a good rapport.

Emma was starting to feel more comfortable around James she obviously is not easily tactile where he is, their first challenge they admitted to was his snoring.

Emma and James threw themselves into their relationship, and held a house party, Emma certainly had come out of her shell and was quite fruity and confident laguage wise towards him when telling him what to do. She admitted to a friend that the physical thing was still awkward. He confided in his friend that the last week had been difficult as she is not that affectionate.

During the time of living together there appeared nothing to suggest they had fallen out.

Emma admitted that she was learning things about James every day. James thought she felt comfortable with him in some respects but not in a full intimate relationship.

Decision Time

Only Emma and James remained together at the decision meeting;

Emma admitted she would not have gone for James if she met him i a pub.

James and Emma discussed their five weeks at the meeting with Jo Coker and Rev Nick Devenish

James probably it seems adapted more to Emma and Emma said they had a good 5 weeks.

They decided to remain together for the time being. Two months later they are still together and appear to be getting on. It appears they had moved back into their respective houses and were in constant contact when they were not together. So I guess they were going through the normal dating process and putting to one side they were married.

James admitted that it had only been 3 months since they met and their relationship was in the infancy. Emma admitted she really liked James and watch this space.

 

After Thought

It would seem that Channel 4 are going to repeat the program as they were advertising for people to take part in the next series. I wonder if this would be for a series 3, esp if it took a year for the first series to come together or whether they would cut down the expert research process. Unfortunately like all these types of reality programs I wonder about the next set of applicants and what they are genuinely after in quite a number of reality programs subsequent programs seem to have participants that are more into celebrity/being egotistic than the show.

As for Kate and Jason, one wonders how easy it was for them to get divorced ; a statement I read mentioned they could get the marriage anulled if they had not consumated the relationship. There was no indication on the show what would happen next for them.

As for Jason, he suddenly become one of the most hated men on twitter, the sympathy was all for Kate. At least it seems he had not carried on for the sake of carrying on and allowed Kate to become emotionally attached to a much greater level. One wonders about his thinking when signing up to tindr, during the show he says that it was after realising their relationship was not going to work but he had not had the courage it would seem to tell her and the production crew it was over unless the program was edited wrongly to make him look bad. No doubt at some point if he had been using dating sites or been dating during the time between agreeing to get married and the end of shooting when it was decided it was not working the stories will come out in the press and in reality the story would have come out very quickly after the first episode. Hopefully he will move on with his life quietly and outside the public eye though it will be quite difficult as the press and certain girls will be trying to catch him out nd lets hope he does not end up appearing on celebrity big brother. His name and name of the company he works for has been splashed across the newspapers and internet so one hopes that he has not hindered his own career and his company thinking he has shown them in a bad light.

I look foward to see what happens with Emma and James no doubt the press will keep us informed or a followup episode will tell us, They have already appeared on this morning where philip schofield apparently questioned them on their wedding night to no answers.

 

Episode two of the channel 4 program was the wedding day for each couple

The couples were wed at a central london wedding office in front of their friends and family.

The grooms met their brides family before even meeting their bride.

Their first kiss was in front of their friends and family.

Then there were wedding photos and awkward moment for what is quite intimate photos requiring intimacy and interaction.

At the receptions the brides got to know their grooms more by the bet man speeches.

At the end of the reception they moved onto the hotel and their first night together; I wonder if there was a spare room for each couple if they felt it way to awkard to spend the wedding night together.

• James and Emma.

James is 33 and he stated he had gone through the normal process of being a single bloke and that people around him had settled down and he was keen to do the same.

Emma is 32 and said she had struggled to find love she was nervous and wanted to get the wedding out of the way as that would be the hardest point she readily admitted she struggled to let people in to get to know the real her.

Emmas father struggled to come to terms and did not attend the wedding her sister gave her away.

James looked extremely nervous and was concerned he woud fall for her and she not him, Emma even though she said she was excited she was very nervous and wondered was she doing the right thing.

On meeting at “the alter” James cracked a joke to break the ice, Emma appeared to look at the ground and giggle nervously (she admitted that when she is nervous she giggles).

James confidently said his vows; Emma struggled making numerous mistakes and getting a frog in her throat. She continued to giggle and look nervous and she stuggled to make eye contact throughout.

Emmas mother liked James sense of humour, James mother had a very good feeling.

Emmas first impression was he had nice dark eyes which is what she likes, James admitted he could not say as his mind was blank and hoyght she had a mad man style and she looked cool.

Emma seemed at the reception to look for reassurance from her friends.

James thought Emma was really nice and that they were very similiar, she tought he was a really nice guy and she thought it was scary they were so alike and she was not really after the exact same perso.

• Jason and Kate

Jason is 33 and admited he was choosey and had not met the one and had not found it easy to meet the one.

Kate is 31 and has little time for love while building her personal trainer business over the last 3 years. My immediate view was that Kate seemed the most focussed, level headed and eager to explore the process. I do wonder why she agreed to take part

On meeting Jason Kate’s mother thought he seemed at first impressions focussed and commited.

On meeting at “the alter” Kate seemed really smiley and happy and excited a little giggly perhaps on seeing Jason, Jason looked petrified.

Jasons vows were unsurprisingly a little stuttery , Kates were flawless.

After getting married Jason first thoughts were when he met her she was a very pretty, beautiful girl and he felt good. Kate admitted she was unsure but as she looked more and more into his eyes she liked him.

Kates bridesmaids thought it felt normal and her reaction was good, Tim, Jasons best man thought there was a spark and the social experiment had worked.

Jason at the end of the episode admitted he was happy and he was attracted Kate felt the same and she was really happy and thought it gad gone well.

 

In the taxis back to the honeymoon hotel was really the first time they could interact. Kate and Jason agreed the day had gone well. Emma and James had a discussion around how nervous she found the last night.

 

Initial impressions from watching the show was that Jason and Kate seemed to get along far easier throughout each stage after the marriage ceremony for the wedding photos and reception, Emma was not keen on the first kiss in front of the wedding photographer. There was far more interaction i.e. hand holding and kisses between the Jason and Kate.

I would presume that the honeymoon and 5 weeks together would show Jason and Kate embracing the process far better than Emma and James. Only episode three would tell.

There have already been numerous dating shows on television of the last 30 years from Blind Date, Dating In The Dark, The Undateables , Take Me Out, The Batchelor to name but some. Over 3 episodes Channel 4 have aired the ultimate show in this genre Married at First Sight. The programme was  dubbed by its producers a ground breaking social experiment.

The idea being that a team of experts via a series of tests would match people with the goal of finding the perfect match. This would be tested by the matches being officially married without having met before the first meeting and view of each other was at the marriage ceremony and living together for 5 weeks before they would then decide if they would like to stay together or divorce.

The show was based on a Danish format with versions already having appeared on both US and Australian tv, no doubt other countries are in the process of producing or have already produced a show.

So what happened;

Episode One – Introduced the viewer to the format.

Over the course of a year via various tests experts matched couples that had applied to take part. The program mentioned that approx 1500 people applied for the program. There was no indication of how people became aware of the program I would guess it was via normal advertising processes for programs. After testing over a course of a year 3 couples were chosen as perfect matches.

The experts on the show were Jo Coker – Psycho-sexual therapist and psychologist , Dr Mark Coulson – Associate Professor of Psychology, Reverend Nick Devenish – Church of England Priest and Dr Anna Machin – Evolutionary Anthropologist.

It has been subsequently reported that Nick Devenish vicar at the Church of St Mary & St Michael in Cartmel, Cumbria, who does not perform marriages on the show but helped in the couple picking process was criticised by the Bishop of Manchester who said should not have appeared and by Rt Rev David Walker who described show as ‘inappropriate and rather seedy’.

Dr Anna Machin is a member of the department of experimental psychology medical sciences division at Oxford University and her profile on the univeristy site states “My research focuses upon the psychology, cognition and neurobiology of human social relationships.   I am interested in how individuals maintain their closest relationships and why people might differ in their desire and ability to do this.   I have a particular interest in long term romantic relationships and the father-infant relationship.”

Dr Mark Coulson is Reader in Psychology at the School of Health and Education in the department of Psychology at the Middlesex University. His profile on the university website states his research and interests include Psychology of happiness (positive psychology), Expression of emotion through body posture and movement; theoretical and simulation models of emotion, Effects of video games, Efficacy of psychological therapies, especially in older adults and Mindfulness.

Jo Coker web profile states “I am an HCPC reg Counselling Psychologist and an accredited BACP and COSRT psychotherapist and clinical supervisor. I have worked for 35 years in the NHS with individuals, couples and families in a variety of clinical and counselling roles. At present I am the Clinical Director of Local Counselling Centre which offers counselling across the home counties.”

The matching process matched the couples on various criteria, including their DNA, physical data, relationship history and their intelligence and also used a form of video diary.

After this matching 3 couples were chosen as the ideal match these were

Emma Rathbone and James Ord-Hume,

Kate Stewart and Jason Knowles

Samantha and Jack

The individuals in couples were informed by telephone in frot of a camera their responses were as if they had suddenly realised what they had got themselves into and you could see te nerves start to come through. Each individuals next step was to inform their family and friends. I would presume that they had been sworn to some form as secrecy in the application process as their was genuine shock from the respective families. Unfortunately due to how her family reacted Samantha pulled out of the show meaning Jack also had to drop out. It would be interesting to know their thoughts on seeing each other on tv once the program aired.

The other two couples then went around the normal process of purchasing wedding dresses and suits and having stag and hen parties. The only indication they had of their respective partners was seeing the other persons name and information on the marriage license they had to sign.