Reality TV was once a lawless place – and then it was linked to 40 deaths in 30 years. Gradually, painfully, some semblance of order has been imposed on the wild west of unscripted television. Contestants no longer eat live spiders on I’m a Celebrity, while Love Islanders are limited to two tipples a night. Most importantly, since Britain’s Got Talent singer Susan Boyle was admitted to the Priory for exhaustion in 2009, it is now standard practice for reality TV hopefuls to undergo psychological examinations. Which sounds great – until you realise that the stress and exhaustion are built-in.
Sleep deprivation is the hidden reality of reality TV. Contestants on Netflix’s new competition Squid Game: The Challenge are currently seeking compensation after allegedly experiencing hypothermia and nerve damage while filming in freezing temperatures. Comparatively, the show’s sleeping conditions might sound dreamy: participant Melissa Rimsza says hundreds of players slept in a windowless warehouse full of bunkbeds, with its fluorescent lights dimmed.
