A new reality TV show in which half the ‘stars’ are gorillas could replace Big Brother as a small screen fly-on-the-wall favourite.
The format has generated a flurry of interest at the Mipcom media convention in Cannes, where programme makers battled to pitch their ideas to an audience of buyers.
Reality television is now a well-worn format, but programme makers Silverback argue that their show – The Missing Link – is “not just another social experiment”.
They are preparing to fly eight participants out to Uganda where they will set up camp deep in the African rainforest and meet their eight ape equivalents.
‘An ape like me/can learn to be human too’, went the Jungle Book song – but the Missing Link participants will see the tables turned as they are challenged to learn from the apes by living just like them.
As well as eating, sleeping and interacting as the gorillas do, whenever the creatures move to a new nesting place, the human group will have to follow.
The producers claim they have selected the show’s participants so that each member of the gorilla family is represented by a person – from the attractive young female to the alpha male.
“We share over 98% of our DNA. Can you see the difference?” asks the programme trailer.
By “descending the evolutionary ladder”, the human group will face new challenges of leadership, survival and friendship, according to Silverback – a production company owned by ITV Global.
The idea of having reality show participants behave like apes has been received with a mixture of interest and amusement.
“I thought humans who appeared on reality TV shows already did this!” remarked TV critic Jaci Stephen.
Meanwhile, top showbiz reporter Ashley Pearson described the format as indicative of a tired TV genre.
She told Sky News Online: “I think that reality shows are really struggling to seem fresh, current and interesting.
“They are having to resort to shock tactics – and this is a perfect example of this.
“That said – as long as no gorillas are harmed in the making of Missing Link, I have no problem with it at all.
“It sounds little different to shows such as Big Brother, which put participants under pressure.”
Expeditie Robinson 2010
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Janell Wheeler
