Britain's Got Talent, The Great British Bake Off, and MasterChef have topped a list of the nation's favourite reality TV shows.
Cooking shows are the favourite category of reality TV for three in ten fans of the genre (31 per cent) – while 26 per cent love a true crime show, or a dating show such as Love Island.
Other top 10 reality shows include The Apprentice, Made In Chelsea, and franchises such as Below Deck, The Real Housewives, and Married At First Sight.
And a survey of 2,000 adults who watch reality TV found that four in ten enjoy it as it as an easy watch – with 30 per cent saying it makes them laugh.
A third of viewers find it relaxing as they are able to turn their minds off – while 27 per cent simply love the drama of it all.
And 14 per cent admit that almost half the TV they watch in a week is reality TV – with 47 per cent consuming so much of the genre, that they feel like their favourite TV personalities are now part of the family.
The research was commissioned by Hayu, the all-reality streaming service from NBCUniversal (NBCU).
Hendrik McDermott, MD EMEA Networks, Hayu, and Direct-to-Consumer at NBCU, said: “Reality TV is a genre that evokes huge passion that, at its very core, is about relationships, what makes them, and what breaks them – be it The Real Housewives, Below Deck, or Top Chef franchises, Vanderpump Rules, or Keeping Up With the Kardashians.
“It keeps audiences coming back for more. It’s escapism from the reality of life, a time to take a moment for oneself and an opportunity to relax – and the results have clearly highlighted this.”
The research, via OnePoll, also found that 45 per cent have followed the journeys of their beloved TV personalities for five or more years – and 11 per cent believe they know more about these “characters” than about their own partners.
In fact, 27 per cent have debated with their partners about the amount of reality TV they consume – but 37 per cent said it would be very unlikely for them to stop watching altogether.
But other reasons people love the genre include escape from everyday life (26 per cent), and the personalities being so different from the people they know in real life (17 per cent) – while 13 per cent enjoy that the personalities say and do things they never would.
However, 15 per cent of 25- to 34-year-olds are finding career inspiration from reality TV, as some shows offer a look into other forms of employment from the those they currently have.
If you can't see the poll, click here
It also emerged that 31 per cent feel their lives aren’t as interesting as those in their favourite reality TV programmes – although a sassy 43 per centbelieve other people would be interested in a show about their life.
Hendrik McDermott added: “Hayu is the home of reality TV, with hundreds of shows and thousands of episodes available the same day as the USA.
“There are no spoilers and there is no waiting, which we know is key for subscribers who want to see their favourite content first.
“It’s great to see that some shows are inspiring people to investigate different career options – and we understand why some TV show personalities almost feel like part of the family.”
Brits' top 20 favourite reality TV shows
- Britain's Got Talent
- The Great British Bake Off
- MasterChef
- The Apprentice
- Love Island
- Married At First Sight (incl. Australia, UK, USA, etc.)
- Below Deck (incl. Below Deck Med, Below Deck Sailing Yacht, Below Deck Down Under)
- Top Chef
- Made In Chelsea
- The Real Housewives franchise (incl. Beverly Hills, New York, Atlanta, Salt Lake City, etc.)
- Interior Design Masters with Alan Carr
- Catfish
- Keeping Up With The Kardashians
- The Bachelor
- The Only Way Is Essex
- RuPaul's Drag Race
- Teen Mom
- Glow Up
- Project Runway
- The Real World
