Reality TV is one of the great inventions of the modern world, if only because it gives an ethical loophole to all of us who love a good gossip but don’t want to slander our mates.
And that’s probably about 99% of the population: the recent series of The Traitors, with all its bad actors and diplomatic bachelors, was certainly the talk of the town.
But a married couple of podcasters have proved themselves a cut above all of us amateur tattlers. Benedict and Hannah Townsend’s analysis in Talk of the Townsends was so enjoyable, and so thorough, that some of their listeners weren’t even watching The Traitors.
The podcast soon reached number two in Spotify’s Top TV and film chart, second only to The Rest Is Entertainment. That’s not bad for a podcast recorded at home on a sofa. And, speaking of armchair criticism, the Townsends strike me as an ideal Gogglebox couple.
Now they’ve turned their attention to The Apprentice for another watch-along mini-series. They have apparently spent years watching what Benedict glowingly describes as “the greatest comedy show on TV”, and that dedication tells in their hilarious unpacking of its tropes.
“If you’ve never watched The Apprentice before,” Benedict says, “you might think: ‘Oh, this is a show about people trying to do business’. My friend, maybe in 2005 it was. Now it is purely about stitching up whoever is silly enough to come on this show.”
Hannah reckons that the essence of The Apprentice lies in the contestants’ opening lines, which amount to a competition to describe yourself as the most competitive person who has ever lived.
“But it’s very hard to reinvent the wheel each time,” she notes, “so this year we had: ‘I am the human equivalent of a tank."
Another cliché: Lord Sugar’s groan-worthy dad jokes, which Benedict thinks “the boss” delivers so flatly that he must be reading them all off flashcards for the very first time.
But these days reality TV is often so fast-paced, and the editing so TikTok-ified, that it’s just nice to be reminded of its funniest moments. Especially when watching a show, such as The Apprentice, that is full of them.
I laughed out loud when they discussed Carlo – who put himself forward for “Sub Team Leader”, citing his sales expertise – trying to sell an electric bike tour of the alpine city of Innsbruck, Austria, to a 97-year-old man.
Both Townsends make for fun company, with banter that puts Sugar’s ghostwritten one-liners to shame. But the podcast is a natural progression for Benedict. His much-loved YouTube series YouTuber News has since transmuted into the excellent Scroll Deep, “the show that keeps up with internet nonsense, so you don’t have to”.
Benedict seems to be steadily carving out an impressive career through covering content that is, rightly or wrongly, often scoffed at.
