Nick Grimshaw thinks most reality TV has now become 'too unreal'
The former BBC Radio 1 DJ is one of the celeb stars of new Channel 4 reality show The Underdog: Josh Must Win.
Nick Grimshaw absolutely loves reality TV, but he doesn't love the way the genre has changed in the decades since Big Brother first introduced this sort of "social experiment" to our screens.
The 39-year-old DJ and presenter is one of four celebrities taking part in the new series The Underdog: Josh Must Win. It's a spin on the reality TV formula that Grimshaw explained to The Guardian is "subversive" in its approach.
In the show, an average guy — the Josh of the title — is placed into a house with some muscular Love Island types who think they're taking part in a show called The Favourite.
Actually, though, the whole thing is about the celebrity panel trying to make sure Josh wins the competition and is crowned "most popular".
Watch: Trailer for The Underdog: Josh Must Win
"Reality TV has become too unreal. Samey people with the same agenda," said Grimshaw.
He added: "Our show’s message is more positive. It teaches us that the underdog can triumph and never to judge a book by its cover. It explores the bones of reality TV, its whole structure."
Grimshaw explained that he initially thought he was also the butt of a joke and became convinced that the ultra-muscular and ultra-confident stars around Josh couldn't possibly be for real.
It was only after a chat with co-star Vicky Pattison — herself a reality veteran from Geordie Shore and I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here — that he realised the truth.
"It’s just the next generation of reality stars," he said. "They’ve grown up watching these shows. They’ve been creating content on their phones for half their lives, so they’re super-comfortable on camera."
Grimshaw's role is a unique one. As well as joining Pattison, Amber Rose Gill, and Pete Wicks as a behind-the-scenes puppet master, he has to enter the house as the presenter of the fake show.
He confessed to "fatigue" with reality TV and admitted that he was bored of predictable casts full of the "same caricatures". There's no denying that reality shows seem to have lost a lot of their diversity in recent years, trading on the same body types and personalities over and over again.
It's a trend that The Underdog is trying to take apart, which should make it one of the most interesting reality shows of the year.
The Underdog: Josh Must Win starts at 9pm on Monday 25 March on E4.
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