reality TV

Michelle Visage to be a judge in RuPaul’s Drag Race UK

Michelle Visage (Credit: BBC)

The eight-part series will search the UK for the brightest and best drag queens to discover the UK's next drag superstar.

To get the crown, the queens must first be put through an array of challenges, testing the contestants’ acting, modelling and comedy skills.

A series regular in the US version, Michelle Visage has judged eight series of RuPaul’s Drag Race in the US and has collaborated with RuPaul for over two decades.

“We've been working tirelessly to bring the magic of RuPaul's Drag Race to my favourite city in the world: London!” Said Visage.

Channel 4 reveals new format for The Island with Bear Grylls

Bear Grylls (Credit: Channel 4)

Treasure Island with Bear Grylls will be a six-part series that will see 12 strangers stranded on a remote island with hidden riches up for grabs.

Under the watchful eye of Bear Grylls, the islanders will battle for survival against mother nature and each other for a treasure of £100,000.

Pushed to their limits, the contestants won’t just need to find the loot but will also need last to the end of the show, or risk leaving empty-handed.

The revamped reality show will allow the islanders to cooperate, but with money involved can anyone be trusted?

New reality show The Royal World heads to MTV International

The six-part series will see nine aristocratic individuals from the UK, Russia, Austria, Nigeria, Ireland and America live together in a mansion in the British countryside.

The Royal World will take a look at their privileged lives and reveal the people behind the prestigious titles. With royal fever still abuzz following the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, the series promises a glimpse at life of young royals as they navigate their way through their twenties as part of society's elite.

Love Island: the secrets behind the ITV2 hit

(Credit: Paul Hampartsoumian)

Ahead of the new series, which starts on 4 June, an RTS early evening event brought together some of the reality show’s key people to explain the secret of its success.

Having left E4 to run ITV’s digital channels, Angela Jain recalled that she had been looking for a new entertainment format that was “ big in scale and volume”. As a former commissioner of Big Brother, she “really understood the value of having a really chunky show and what it does to your schedules”.

‘Sun, sea and sass’: Channel 4 announces new holiday series Shipmates

Two groups of mates will be jetting off to the Med joining thousands of tanned and toned twenty somethings for a once-in-a-lifetime party aboard one of Europe’s most lavish cruise liners.

This series joins the Anchored Cruise, where 2,500 young holidaymakers let their hair down with an itinerary of pool parties, DJs and some of the most exclusive events in the world.

Geordie Shore's Charlotte Crosby lands her own reality show

Charlotte Crosby (Credit: MTV).

The tell-all show will follow Charlotte, going behind the scenes to capture heartbreak, hard work and the rekindling of relationships.

From her glamourous lifestyle travelling the world, to being herself at home, nothing will be off limits in this no holds barred series. Other famous faces are also set to make appearances.

The eight part series is set to air in March 2018.

The Island with Bear Grylls 2017: Meet the contestants

Armed with some survival training, the clothes they stand in, filming equipment, medical supplies, some basic tools and fishing equipment and enough water for 24 hours, the islanders will be forced to fend for themselves in the outdoors as they face dehydration, hunger and severe weather conditions during storm season.

The six-part series will have a new twist as two groups from different generations will be dropped on a pair of neighbouring islands without the knowledge of the other.

What's next for reality TV?

MTV’s new reality offering is Spring Break With Grandad, which sees eight attractive young singletons head off to Cancun in Mexico for the “greatest vacation of their lives”. The catch? Their grandparents are coming along too.

The RTS spoke to the presenter of the show, Geordie Shore’s Gary Beadle, as well as Made in Chelsea’s Jamie Laing and TV executive Dom Bird about the popularity of the genre, and what comes next.

Sir Bradley Wiggins completes The Jump 2017 line-up

The Tour De France winner and eight-time Olympic medallist will join a raft of famous faces taking part in the fourth series of the perilous winter sport contest, held in Austria.

This year’s competition could be the toughest yet, as a large number of sports personalities are due to take to the slopes.

They include former England Rugby Captain Jason Robinson OBE, former England footballer Robbie Fowler, Olympic medallists Louis Smith and Jade Jones and Paralympic medallist Kadeena Cox.