Join Chi Chi Izundu as she looks back on the world of The X Factor, where contestants perform in front of celebrity judges to realise their dream. It’s a world of glamour and excitement, but also of hard truths, hard words and hard work. For ou

10. A Format In Crisis & The Future of Reality TV: Love Island, Part 2

May 18th, 2022 52m 47s

Sirin Kale and Pandora Sykes look at how one of TV’s most popular shows became mired in tragedy and controversy. Where did it all go wrong? And is this the end for reality TV? Featuring interviews with Megan Barton-Hanson, Dr Alex George, Jake

9. The Influencer Sausage Factory: Love Island, Part 1

May 17th, 2022 46m 29s

Pandora Sykes and Sirin Kale analyse how Love Island became a finishing school for influencers and a commercial juggernaut through its association with fast fashion. Featuring interviews with Megan Barton-Hanson, Dr Alex George, and many more.

8. Lifestyles of The Mega-Rich: The Real Housewives & Selling Sunset

May 17th, 2022 53m 1s

Sirin Kale and Pandora Sykes slip into the moneyed world of the Californian 0.01% with the help of a Real Housewife and a Selling Sunset realtor, to examine property porn, toxic wealth, and why audiences want schadenfreude. Featuring interviews

7. The British Docusoap: The Only Way Is Essex & Made In Chelsea

May 17th, 2022 51m 13s

Pandora Sykes and Sirin Kale look at how these BAFTA-winning reality shows became national treasures and explore why the ingredients for a good reality show are the same, wherever they are set. Featuring interviews with Spencer Matthews, Georgi

6. Climbing The Ladder: Keeping Up With The Kardashians

May 17th, 2022 50m 45s

Sirin Kale and Pandora Sykes delve into the story of America’s First Family, the Kardashian-Jenners, and how they leveraged reality tv to redefine beauty ideals and create an entirely new category of uber-celebrity. Featuring interviews with Ke

5. The Birth of Scripted Reality: Laguna Beach & The Hills

May 17th, 2022 50m 17s

Pandora Sykes and Sirin Kale tread a nostalgic path back to their teenage years and The Hills, which birthed reality’s first wave of lifestyle influencers. Featuring interviews with Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montag, and many more.Producer: Hannah

4. The Makeover Era: The Swan and What Not To Wear

May 17th, 2022 53m 36s

Sirin Kale and Pandora Sykes explore how the rise in cosmetic surgery collided with reality TV, and laid the foundations for our current preoccupation with self-improvement. Featuring interviews with The Swan's show creator and contestant, and

3. The Wild West Years: There’s Something About Miriam and Who’s Your Daddy

May 17th, 2022 44m 50s

Pandora Sykes and Sirin Kale deep-dive into some of reality TV’s most controversial shows in the early 2000s, exploring how the explosion in the genre caused ethics to fly out of the window. Featuring interviews with There's Something About Mir

2. The Talent Show Boom: Pop Idol and The X Factor

May 17th, 2022 49m 42s

Sirin Kale and Pandora Sykes look at how three men called Simon are responsible for the gold rush of talent shows in the early noughties and why the format no longer feels fit for purpose. Producer: Hannah HuffordExecutive Producer: Pandora Sy

1. The Social Experiment: Big Brother Is Watching You

May 17th, 2022 56m 43s

Pandora Sykes and Sirin Kale wind back to Britain's first ‘official’ reality show, to look at how it became a global phenomenon, the importance of authenticity, and how Jade Goody created a new type of celebrity - famous for simply being hersel

Introducing Unreal: A Critical History of Reality TV

May 10th, 2022 4m 45s

The dumbest genre in entertainment, or the one that tells us the most about ourselves? Since its conception, reality TV has divided its viewers. Introducing Unreal: A Critical History of Reality TV, a new 10-part audio documentary written and