It's in the news today, but it was actually on TV Reload the podcast.
Last week airline.
Welcome back to TV Reload. My name is Benjamin Norris, and on this podcast I go behind the scenes with the biggest players in television. Each episode you will get a front row seat with content makers like executive producers, writers, editors and casting agents, plus the talent that we see on our screens. TV Reload reloads the shows that you are currently watching and gives you a better insight into our television industry and our streaming services.
Today.
On the podcast, I have ITV executive producer Alex Mavertikes and he joins me for the third time on TV Reload, which is for a couple of reasons. He is my friend, he is my old boss, and he has a new show worth plugging. Channel nine's Love Island Australia Season four is already in full swing and if you're not watching this dynamic news series then you are missing out big time. Go catch the first four episodes on nine now, with new episodes dropping Monday Thursday. You can thank me for
it later, which I'm sure you will. So why should you watch Love Island? Well, I'm glad you asked. This group of singles are TV gold so good looking? The show is back in Spain. But also, nothing works if you don't understand the assignment, and that's something that ITV clearly knows a lot about. It is funny, it is sexy. It is the best guilty pleasure outside of your own shenanigans in the bedroom. Maybe the show could be full playing. I'm not going to judge you if that's the case.
We will talk about the contestants going on OnlyFans after their time on the show, and what Alex thinks of that. We will find out what he looks for in your audition videos. I will get some exclusives on the next I'm a celebrity, Get me out of here. Honestly, I ask Alex pretty much everything, and he gives genuine answers, which most people at his level totally wouldn't. However, let's
get started with today's guest. I'd like to welcome returning favorite to the podcast, executive producer Alex Madvertt to a TV reload.
Love On is not a television show. Love On is content.
Love Island is back.
You'll notice from episode one there's like twenty seven times more abs and ours shots in the previous series. The Islanders are ready for their biggest challenge since writing their names on the application. I think we draw the line at full penetrative six.
Do you like the view? And I'm not talking about Spain the girls here, Yeah, they're pretty good, to be honest, if I'm pretty happy with.
It one hundred percent. People see this is a pathway to grow the things, and I'm completely fine with that. If you have a better connection with someone else, I want you to pursue someone else. The worst that can happen is you're going to be on TV for a bit and you're going to go home and go back to normal jobs.
Hey mate, thanks for coming back on the podcast three times.
People are going to start talking about us, which which you might be all right with. I'm okay with I'm okay with it too.
Well. When you work on.
Two of the year's biggest television staples, it's really hard to ignore you.
Thank you, mate. I appreciate that they are the pretty good shows. I still love them. Dearly me.
Here we are talking about Love Island twenty twenty two. How was the shoot in Spain?
Look? Every single EP will tell you that this show is brilliant, all right. There's not a single ep that will come on a podcast and say, don't bother watching it. It's shit, So I'm not going to buck the trend. It is an absolute ripper, and I actually mean that. I think it's the best season of Love On we've made. I'm going to say that it's one of the best
seasons of Love Old I've seen across the world. That's so much drama, so much funny, and of course it's all different because it's pre recorded, which obviously it had to be because nine wanted it on at this time of the year, and at this time of the year, if we filmed in Spain, we'd be wearing snowjackets instead of bikini so we had to pre record it. And that was a bit scary for us all because obviously it's the first ever pre recorded Love Old anywhere in
the world. But you know what, it feels the same, it looks the same. We still shoot an episode of day, we still edit an episode a day, so it is basically exactly the same. The only thing we had to do differently was the audience voting. But in all honesty, we're going to cop a few comments, you know, why can't we vote? But ninety five percent, I'm going to say even ninety seven percent, probably ninety nine percent of people watch Love Island on catch up. You know, we
know that we don't rate well on television. We rate well on catch up people watching it on their phones or on their iPads or on the train or whenever. And so really hardly anyone voted, let's be honest about it. So we did a social post a few months ago and called for super fans, which is, you know, Love Island tragics, die hard fans that know everything about the show, and we enlisted a whole load of them, and we got them a feed of the villa and basically got
them to do the voting for us. So for anybody watching it, it feels exactly the same. The only difference is we're screening it now, so I've only seen eleven epps as twenty nine episodes, and I've only watched eleven of them so far, because we're still cutting it now, one day at a time, and it is so good, Like honestly, I look forward to eight o'clock every morning when I have my daily screenings because it is a
cracking series. You are honestly, if anyone listening to this that's about to watch it, well, you know you may have even watched the first couple of episodes. It's a really great series, very excited.
This season looks super polished, like it doesn't miss a beat. The ingredients seemed to be, I don't know, working better this year than any other. Am I right by saying that.
Yeah, look, it's it's it's experience. You know, we've got the cast really right. Everybody shines. They're so bloody hot it's just stupid. But you know they're not just vapp it hot there. They can actually all talk that everybody has past the talk test, and yes this is the first time in this villa. So it's always hard to find your feet, and you know, for anybody watching, you might even notice in episodes one and two, you know
we miss a few shots here and there. But by episode three and four, we you know, we find our feet and the directors know what they're cutting, and the producers nowhere the islanders going to kind of migrate to and it just finds its feet. So it looks it looks polished because it's in Spain. You know, I'm not gonna lie. We did season one in Spain and it looked bloody fantastic, and then we thought we'd try Fiji because it's closer to home and it stopped everyone for
having to travel halfway across the universe. And you know, it was a good series, but it just didn't feel the same. And then of course COVID hit and we had to do one in Byron, and I thought it was just so good to get back to Spain because everything just looks you know, that kind of eight pm magic hour sunset just makes everybody look hot. I mean even I was taking selfies and I'm not hot at all, and even pictures, so I mean, Christ, if it can make me look good, then Spain rules.
I'm not gonna lie. Honestly, the first season, I'm just a huge fan. It's one of my favorite reality seasons. Season two and season three for me, weren't as good. However, watching the first few episodes of this year, it's back to form. But I think it's going to be better than season one. I think you are right. I think you have, you know, been able to deliver something that is going to outshine all Love islands from around the world. And I think it has to do with the cast.
I think the cast are electric. I think they're really fun. And all I want to know is like, did you have a different process with casting this year? Like why is the cast so much better than any other year we've seen before?
Look, No, different process, Like certainly myself, Caroline Williams, the other co executive producer, Josie Steele, the serious producer, had a very big hand in picking the cast this time, more so than more so than before. We found a really good way to pitch them to Channel nine, because it's always it's great finding lots of great people, but then you know, you've got to kind of get them past the network and kind of persuade them that you know,
these people that we've met are amazing. And we had a really good production crew that cut these little videos to you know, commercial tracks, and we were able to sell the cast that we wanted in and you know, we didn't have many people that we argued about, like you know, we we knew, I mean, so many people in this in this year's cast, and you guys will get to know them, but you know, Callum for example, Austin, Claudia Laylor, Jordan, you know the second they walked in
the room in their various states, I knew that they were an islander within you know, within fifteen seconds they just popped so hard. And then the only job after that is to cut the little videos that you film on those days well enough to persuade the network that they are as good as we thought they were. And
you know, for once, we got it right. Because you know, going right back to Big Brother, every single year you meet people and you go, this guy or this girl are amazing, and every single year you get you get a few wrong. I mean, you know, I'm going to again, going right back to Big Brother, there's not a single season under my when I was in charge of it where there wasn't one or two people that we thought, oh, you know, they weren't as good as we thought they
were going to be casting. And it's same with I'm a celeb. You know, like you pick celebrities that you think are going to knock it out the park, and a few of them will always disappoint you. And in the first three seasons of Love On, you know, we've
definitely got a few wrong. And obviously I'm not going to mention any names, but it's pretty obvious when you watch a show who is who pops and who's a little bit underpar I don't think we've got anyone wrong this series, and that is a really rare thing to say, and it obviously makes me feel really good. We didn't do anything different, We just we just went really hard.
And I also think this is a really weird one, but I think during COVID a lot of kind of people were forced to use social media and talking to camera a lot more now, whether that is just zoom calls or you know, Insta stories or TikTok or whatever. But we've got this whole new legion of you know, nineteen to twenty four year olds or probably even younger
than that, probably like fourteen upwards. Obviously, we're not going to have anyone that young on the show who are suddenly brilliant on camera, and that is because that's how they've how they've grown up. It used to be back in twenty twelve when cast you One Big Brother. But you know, it's not like we had a million options. We probably had twenty five people that were good enough to go in the house. This year, we probably had one hundred and twenty five people that were good enough
to go in the villa. It was just working out which one should go in because I just think people are just more confident on camera. Now.
Well, you predicted this, I mean we talked about this a few years ago and you were like, you know, with the nature of social media and people creating their own content, they're their own producers. They know what lands, they know what looks good on camera. You know, they
know what's going to be shared. So I mean you said that three years ago so and you were like, but imagine what it's going to be like soon when these kids are old enough, you know, and how they are old enough, and now you do have access to them. And I mean, Cassidy's still my favorite contestant in Love
Island Australia so far. And I feel like you've made You've found like at least five Cassidys in this season that are going to be the type of people who were bat you crazy enough to have, you know, a full relationship that normally would happen in real life over a year, seemed to happen within twenty four hours, you know what I mean.
Fall in last, have.
Them break you hard, you know, try and get over them. Find someone new like that's the kind of dynamic that you want from these types of people.
People that have you know, completely got their ships together are not generally the best reality TV contestants. You know. You want people that are you know, slightly haven't got all their ship together, not in a terrible way, in a fun way, but what's what's the fun of you know, what's what's the fun and watching a whole load of really well rounded, completely level headed people. You want. You want people that go in with a few issues. That's that's the good stuff.
You know, with a show like this, everyone wants to know, you know, what, what are the producers want for me? And so people probably listen to this next year when you're making the next season, But what exactly are you looking for? Because they all want to They all contact me on Facebook when applying for different reality shows and say what a producers want? And over time I've got
my own little notes on what I think. You know, Jewels wants for the Block and you want for Love Island or Army Celebrity and I kind of worked these things out. But for you particularly, is it just the is it just the aesthetic or what are the things that what are the touch points.
Did you looking for?
I can tell you one hundred percent, it's not just a look now, of course, of course that of course they need to be amazingly good looking for Love Island. We chucked out a guy this year. We didn't even invite into the casting tour. Clearly, I'm not going to mention the name here, but and who will never know
that I'm talking about him? But we did a zoom call with a guy and we looked at his Instagram and he applied for the show, and honestly, the girls in the office and some of the guys were just like, this is the best looking man I've ever seen in my life. And I was two. I was just looking and going, were you chiseled by the gods? Because there is nothing like there is not one part of your body or face that isn't perfect. He was the best looking man I've ever seen. The poor bustard couldn't string
two words together. So it is not just about the look. We didn't even bother taking him on the turk. If you can't pass the talk test, there is no point in turning up to a twenty four hour turnaround reality TV show where this camera's pointing at you all day, and we our thirst for content is so high. The answer to your question is they need to be entertaining. And Duels from the Block and Tara from Maths and everybody across all of the reality shows will tell you
the same thing. Now, clearly everybody has different needs and different wants for their particular show. I'm very lucky in the respect that Love Island is made with its tongue and it's cheap. You know, it's it's fun. Nobody comes on Loveland thinking it's the biggest social experiment in the world. I am so upfront with all of the Islanders right right from the start, and I say, we will take the piss out of you, and we will take the piss out of ourselves. And that is how we produce
this show, and we make no apology for it. Loveland is pure entertainment and if you're down with that, then
you are very welcome to come on this show. And it's that kind of honesty and obviously all of the screening that we do beforehand with them that lets us know that they are robust enough and mentally tough enough to go through this experience, which is also a huge part of what we need for a show like Loveland, because unlike The Block, and unlike Married at First Site, and unlike The Bachelor, and unlike everything else, there are
production breaks. You know, you go home at night, you can check your phone, you can do all that stuff. On Love Island, you go through this massive audition process. You then go into a villa where you are filmed twenty four hours a day. The very nature of the format is you are going to be rejected by people, and you're going to be dumped at some point almost certainly.
Then after you've finished in the villa, you're going to have to deal with dickheads online saying, oh she's not very hot, or he's a fucking idiot, or I don't like their face, or my god, look at their wonky nose. And in order to deal with all of that stuff,
you have got to be an incredibly tough person. And so that's what we need because I'm incredibly proud of the fact that of the eighty odd Big Brother housemates, two hundred odd I'm a celebrity, celebrities, and one hundred odd Love Island islands that I've had to deal with. It been on my shows I haven't had a serious issue with any of them, and I believe that's because we we edit fairly. It's all of those shows were made, you know, with fun first. You know, we didn't pretend
to be something that we weren't. There entertainment shows, that's what we were making, and we were upfront with them, not from the start. You know, I sat down and you probably remember this chat, you know, sat down and said, what you're about to go through is fun. This is a fun experience. What's the worst that can happen. The worst that can happen is you're going to be on TV for a bit and you're going to go home and go back to your normal job. That's the worst
that can happen. Best that can happen is how you can win some money or find a girlfriend or you know, whatever it is that you're on the show for. But nothing bad can happen. I think if you're honest with them, with these people right from the start, it will help massively. And that's the way we've always played it.
I have spoken to so many people in the industry, you know, people the contestants off your shows come on the podcast, so I speak to them. I run into them in the pubs, the clubs, or wherever it is that I'm out and about, and I've never heard anyone say anything bad about you behind your back either, Like you might be in the top chair and you might be just maybe a little bit deluded and think you're amazing,
But I can honestly give you that feedback. But the affection and the affinity that goes with it comes down to trust, and I think we've talked about that before and I think that's the that's the biggest currency in television at the moment, is getting people to be on television with a lot of trust there, because if that's there, you're getting the best out of them and you're doing your job right.
That's that's lovely to hear. Look, I have no doubt that people do say things by the back, but well for the beast, and you know, I'm a big enough boy to cop that. You know, a lot of this comes down to you know, Tajalla Jela Webster in the
way she cuts these shows as well. I really do believe that everybody gets you know, the fair edit and I talked about this a bit, but you know, we don't play either, well, we don't have the time to play the frank and grab card and turn people into characters on these shows because they are such fast turnaround. You know, I've got no problem with somebody saying, you know, if if somebody stumbles on the words and go, you know,
I really love you, but what's your name again? Blah blah, ben, Like, I don't mind you cut all of that out, you know, and change people's words, because the sentiment is exactly the same. But when you clearly change someone's words, like you know, I really love you John, you know, when they're talking about John somewhere else, I think that I think that
is taking the piss. And we've seen everything, you know, Yeah, I mean how many times on I probably shouldn't say this, I'm going anyway, how many times on you know, the recent Big Brothers, have we seen someone sitting in a diar room and talking and you know they're using them one hundred percent. Then it cuts to the house and then their tone of voice change changes completely because they're clearly using them talking about something else from another time.
It's just I just don't think it's a fair way to edit. So I really do take my hat off to our post Team Jallah. You know the gel has run over all these years, across all these shows. You know it's a fair edit that I think our people get.
Well, this is the question. I'm really excited about Love Island. You know there's now Heartbreak Island.
There's going to be Fuck Boy Ireland. Are all They're all trying.
To do the same things in the reality space that is similar to what you've done with Love Island. When other producers copy elements from your shows, do you get flattered by that or do you get frustrated?
Oh?
Look, it is flattering, but you know there is only one Love Island. I mean, you know, at least change it up a little bit. Like I thought Too Hot to Handle was really clever. For example, Now that was clearly a Love Island rip off, but had a really clever element to it, which is, you know, you can't touch each other or you lose money. I thought that
was genius. The other ones a Heartbreak Old. I haven't even seen a frame of it, but I know that nobody's watching it, so I'm imagining it's not that good. Fuck boyl I know nothing about I know that Warns are making it for Foxtail. I look forward to seeing it Love Boat. I mean, you know, God, the fact that they were able to sell themselves as Loveland on
a boat is almost offensive. When we were in ship self mode during COVID and trying to get the show up, we were talking all sorts of crazy stuff because I don't know if you remember, but the American Love Island very cleverly made their show on the roof of a casino in Las Vegas, and we were trying to work out how to make Australian Love Island when nobody could go anywhere and no one could breathe near anyone and all that kind of stuff, And we seriously considered making
love Oland on a boat for about a day and how that would work and what it would look like. And I thank God that we didn't do it.
Now, but I mean crudous to Channel ten and the people that were behind making that, because I think there is still a thirst for seeing new content, new shows. I think people want to see some things that you know, I think they need to take a gamble, you know.
Yeah, Look, Chanten are the best network at taking a gamble, and obviously sometimes it doesn't work. They hit the jackpot with is It Hunted.
Yeah, that was a good one that worked.
That really worked, and obviously the audience responded to it. You know, they haven't hit the jackpot with Traitors and
love Boat, but hey, at least they're trying. Channel nine have got an ITV show launching after the Block called My Mum or Dad, which is a brand new format, which I've seen episode one of it and is excellent, and it'd be interesting to see if It'd be interesting to see if that can pull a crowd, because I do think people are more skeptical of new shows now, and because you know, there is so much choice with streaming services. Unless it's a love Old or and o'motlet
to get Me out of Here? Or Married at First Sight, or a block or a big Brother or show a brand that people know, it's very hard to pull a crowd now. But you know, at least Hunted has shown that you can do that, and I hope that My Mum and Your Dad will have the same success.
I think that one's going to be quite good. I've seen the first episode as well. Looks amazing. The decision to have that this season on the streaming platform of Channel nine and not on the main channel you know, it seems like a bit of a mistake. Now, when you ask me, only after watching the first three episodes do I think this, I was like, yeah, that's fine. I think that show is going to work well because that's mainly where people.
Are watching it.
But then I watched and saw how polished and how amazing this series is. Am I wrong by thinking it's a bit of a mistake that it's not at all on the main channel.
Look, I hope you're wrong. I mean, look, it's Love On is not a television show. Love On is content. You know, You've got to remember that it's watched all around the world, and it's watched by teenagers on their phones under their doners, and it's watched by people on the train on the way to work, and it's watched by people on their laptops when they're pretending to work in their office. And it's watched in a whole, weird, wonderful variety of places, on a whole range of different devices.
And what Australian Love Old has shown is over three years, it doesn't matter what channel you put it on, it will always do a small number on linear television. It is not a show that people turn up night after night to watch on TV because most of our audience are not TV viewers. I mean, how many people do you know under the age of twenty five now that literally don't own a TV or don't watch television at all. Everything is everything is online, everything is streamed.
Well, I was talking to young people last night, and I can say that all confidently because I'm now in my forties. But I was talking to young people at a bar last night and they were talking about the fact that none of them watched Freedaware television, like.
No, no long television.
So it's saying that I watched the shows that are on Freedaware television. But then I named shows that are from freedoware that are doing well on the streaming platforms, and they didn't even know that they were playing on the main channel.
Isn't that funny? You know?
They were like, oh, I watch Love Island. They're like, was that on Channel nine? Could you watch that on free to air? And I was like, oh my god.
Yeah, Well that's that's what and that's why I think you probably are wrong, and I hope, I hope you are wrong, but I honestly think it doesn't matter You could put Love Island on Channel nine straight after the block and it probably still wouldn't do a big number.
It is just not a linear TV show however, And I remember back in Spain in twenty eighteen when we first launched a show, and we were all shitting our pants because after six days, when we were getting one hundred and twenty thousand viewers on Go, we thought we were working on the biggest flop in Australian television history. And then the seven day numbers come out and you're like, okay, and then the twenty eight day numbers come out and you're like, oh my god, this is meg. We're going
to have that again. It's going to do a very small number on go. So you know, basically this series is it drops on nine now at six pm Monday to Thursday, and then it gets followed up on Go at eight thirty pm Monday to Thursday. And I'm going to say that ten percent of our audience are going to watch it on Go. And I'm not dissuading anyone can watching it on Go because I want that number to be as big as possible obviously, but let's be honest.
Most people are going to watch it on nine now, and it's unlikely that they're going to be refreshing their screens at five point fifty nine waiting for it to drop. It's going to be a thing where you know, they're going to see the promos and they're going to watch it at ten o'clock at night after they've finished their day, or they're going to watch it at seven o'clock next morning when they're on the way to work.
Well, just so you know, Alex Ben and I watch it in bed at nine o'clock every time, and we've watched every season and it's like we don't normally go to bed at nine o'clock, but we feel Love Island. We get the snacks, we get into bed, we put on the TV that we never use in the bedroom, and we watch it because it is like, I don't know, it's a guilty pleasure. There's no other show in Austrange television like it in my mind.
And how do you do you crome cast it to the screen or do you like, yeah, chrome cast it.
Yeah.
So going back to original point, I do think you're wrong because I think I think it's okay to have polished stuff that drop on streaming services for the first time, and I just don't think it matters when people watch it, as long as they watch it.
But what about Beauty in the Gig. Why is Beauty in the Geek on the main channel? Do you think Beautying the Geek still has an audience on the main channel.
I think it's a broader format. I think it probably appeals to an older audience. But yeah, look, good question. Maybe the next series, if they do another one, will be the same thing. And what are they doing with
Big Brother on seven? I don't know, Like I heard that from I heard that it was only going to be on seven plus with one elimination show a week, and then I heard it was all going to be on the main channel again, So I don't know what they're doing with that, But you know that's the same thing. I mean, clearly, the audience numbers are so low now that it's hard justify it being on Channel seven. So do you know what the plan is with that?
I think that it's going to be nineteen episodes with a finale, and I think that it'll all be pre recorded with the finale is still going to be on the main channel. So and they're a vote coming in from the general public. But it's the shortest season in the history of Big Brother that's been done in the world.
Are they playing on is a streaming thing or is it going to be on Channel seven.
I don't think that's been officially signed off on because whilst it's in quarter two of next year, there's still a bit of time between now and then and other shows to see how they perform. And I guess that'll probably work out where that lands. But I mean, the next format is not resonating with the fans at all. I've never seen a backlash to a theme or a twist of a show then calling it House of Love and having it like Love Island. I mean, it's Love Island in a warehouse.
And I just.
Look, I'll be there to watch it, because you know, I'm a fan and I'll always watch that show. But I just struggle. I'm struggling to see if that and I'm worried for them. This could be the last Big Brother in the country, but I think at the same time seven has been lucky to get four out of it.
So yeah, well, looking at it's hard for me to comment, but I think it's pretty easy. Formerly with Big Brother, you put a load of interesting people into a house. You give them good tasks each week, and you watch them twenty four hours a day, and you show as much of it as possible. That's how you make Big Brother. I went desperately searching through all my old documents from
Southern Star and I couldn't find it. But I know for a fact that in twenty fifteen, when after the last series on Channel nine, they asked for a cheap version of Love Arnt and I came up with an idea, and I gave them a document called Big Brother Love Shack. And what it was. The idea was that the house got turned into like a you know, an old kind of beach shack and of palm trees and all that kind of stuff. And they were all single, and so
this was before Love Arland existed. So I basically pitched Love Island House of Love when we were desperate seven years ago.
Person who's worked across that show, you know, someone who's just as connected to that brand more than maybe even you in some ways, was saying to me that they were really shocked with bringing all Stars back.
They were like, oh, well, Reggie, she had like.
Two million people two to four million people watch that series back in two thousand and three. Surely we'll have a reconnaissance, a return of people that have given up on Free to Wear. But then the numbers didn't translate. You know, they were really shocked by it. They were like, I'm really shocked that bringing these people back didn't have monumental growth.
Well you look, you know, my opinion has always been that All Stars doesn't generally work. Officered that for years, that across a number of brands. It is very hard to get people to be as brilliant the second time as it were the first time, because they've been there and they've done it before. And also there's no new discovery, so it looks it's very it's very hard.
Television is about discovery, though, and that's the biggest problem at the moment, is that I think that we do need to go on a journey. We love to find new things. We love to be going on the journey together and you know, week by week falling in love with the person and talking to our friends about it, we feel like we're a part of it. The moment, the television isn't including its audience or respecting its audience.
As the time that television is no longer working. Yep, we've got to get into this as fast as we can. Can you be a little bit more outrageous? Are we going to get to see more adult, more racy content? Were you able to be on set going? Well, thank Gobra on the you know, the stream platform, because what they've just done there is would never have been on Freedoway television.
I was absolutely delighted when I heard it was going to be on the stream platform for that exact reason. We one hundred percent have been edgier'. You'll notice from episode one there's like twenty seven times more abs and our shots the previous series. And you know, some of the challenges were able to play our you know, look, I think they're hilarious, and I think that our audience will think that they're hilarious. But it's very hard to
put some of that content on the main channel. I remember a challenge that we played in the series one called dirty Pizza when I can't remember what the headline was, but I got that there was a Daily Mail headline and it was the greatest headline I've ever read, with something like, you know, love on a smear tomato paced over their glistening breasts as they You know, it was the most smutty headline ever, and I loved every word of it. And we have challenges like that in this one.
If you're I'm just going to use the code word bananas, and when you see the episode in question, you will then know exactly what I mean.
Oh wait, I'm thinking that sounds in right up, Mali, right up mailing. Indeed, you know, there are some pretty huge surprises. I think you call them bombs, and pre recording a TV show can be really hard, and keeping those secrets a secret and making sure that they don't get leaked to publications and podcasts and all of those thirsty places that people want exclusives. Were you stressed that things like ol from ORETI First Sight getting into the media too early?
Were you worried that that is going to be a.
Not stress so I used to be. I remember when we did well, you know, every year when we did do I'm a Celeb, and I'm a celeb absolutely relies on secrecy in order for us to rate well in episode one, which you know we always do because it's rare that everyone knows who everyone is. But with this one, I always thought if our leaks, it's not going to be a terrible thing for the show, because he's such
you know, he was so great on Marred at First Sight. Obviously, so many people watch that show, so I'm not upset that it. You know, it appears to have leaked and everyone seems to know about it. There are more surprises coming up that I would say are equally as massive that have not leaked yet, which I'm delighted about because I want them to leak when channel and I want them to leak or when people see them on the show.
But it is a series full of surprises. There was We did a lot of twisted turning things this year, and every single one the works. So, yes, Al has leaked. Yes, Al is brilliant in the show. Yes he does a showy on the first night. Yes, you're going to piss yourself laughing when he walks in. He is such a great figure of comedy. And when when nine talked to us about you know, you've got to have this guy
from Married at First Sight. Now, I missed that whole series because I was filming I'm a celebrity when it was on, so I didn't see his frame of it. And I was like, oh, bloody hell, we're gonna have to have someone from Maths on the show. And I went into the room and I tell the other producers no, I want to put this guy on the show. And they were like, is it al And I was like yeah, and I'm like, oh my god, he's amazing. I was like, okay, okay, this is good.
Wow.
And then when I met him in the flesh, I was like, oh my god, this bloke is amazing.
It's amazing.
He's so I only meet him once in real life and he's from a different World's hilarious.
If he had auditioned on his own and never and had never been on Maths, he would still have gotten the show. That's how good he is. Yes, there are there are another couple of surprises coming up later in the series that have not leaked yet that I am delighted if not leaked yet, so stand by. I'm sure they'll leak by the time this podcast drops and then I'll eat my words. But so far, so good.
So he didn't apply though, This is the question everyone wants to know, like, did he put did he take the time to put the audition together and apply for that or did nine say, hey, mate, we need to put you on something right now.
Of course he didn't bloody apply. No, you know, he didn't. Somebody at nine called me up and they said, I want you to have a look at Al and they went didn't tell us and they didn't say you've got to put him on and we have a good look at Al, and luckily we did. And so no, no he didn't apply. But you know, no problem, and that happens.
How do you feel with the contestants going on too only fans? Because do you have an opinion about them going down that path? Once these shows are.
Over, look good on them if they can make money from it. I've got I've got no moral issues with only fans at all. I mean we have cast members. We've cast people in the past that have been on only fans. I think Ari from last year was on only fans. I think a couple maybe one from this season, they're on only fans. I think we draw the line at full penetrative sex. I think I think if you are literally fucking on the internet, that's a step too far. I think it's just nudity and people want to pay
you to look at your body. And your body is you know, good enough to make people pay for it, then then good on you. No no problem at all. But I think really from a brand perspective, if you're literally making hardcore porn and it is accessible to anybody with a credit card, then that probably is a step too far. Having said that, so only people are on it, now you know that that rule may have to change. Two as we as we move moved through the US. Yes,
I love on series ten. I'm sure every single person will on only fans.
But we found all of them off hardcore porn exactly biual, and they're all whatever called gender neutral gender I don't know all of these new terms, all of these work terms.
That's where we will be.
That's where we will be. It'll be it'll be very rare to be a just a heterosexual person that has no only fans that would be impossible to find.
Well, not that Abbi Chatfield is not only fans, but she's sharing more on her social media than ever before. You know, do you think that people use your show just because they want the Insta fame?
It could be the next Abbi Chatfield.
I'm not stupid enough to think that people do not come on Love on to stoke their followers. I mean, let's be honest, a lot of them, do you know. I'm going to say that a lot of people do come on to find love and also to go through the experience of being flown to Spain and meet load of hot people and Instagram followers and TikTok followers and
just social presence is a bonus. But one hundred percent people see this is a pathway to greater things, and I'm completely fine with that as long as they are entertaining and genuinely single and genuinely looking for love. It absolutely wouldn't work if it was just a whole load of want to be influencers, you know, messing around in
Spain and worrying about what their brand is going to be. Again, we go through a painstaking process to make sure people aren't going to come, are going to come and completely give themselves up to this experience and this you know what we're doing. But hey, again, I've got I've got no problem if people want to be insta famous. I mean, god, if I was as hot as the traditional Love Island islander and I could make money, yeah, if you part.
I don't know if you'd be alive. I think you'd know that's true where you would be.
We'll leave it at that.
If someone wanted to pay me a grand to hold up a green smoothie and you know, smile, then you know I'll take a grand, Thanks very much, and you know, no problem. Good on them.
Well for a chubby looking English bloke, I think you've done pretty well for yourself, so I don't I don't think you have to be too worried. Charm alone has been able to get you into places.
There's a saying that we used for Jordan in this series sort of used to apply to me. But I'm not saying I'm a good looking short, but certainly the saying works. And it was you're laughing, you're laughing, you're naked.
Yeah, well that works. That works. I mean, humor has gotten a lot of people into bed.
I just can't believe you're getting away with calling someone Callum hole. His name cannot be Callum hole, the poor boy like when I his.
Name was, it's not his name was Callum Hole. And the way he says is though this is Callum haul. The Welsh apt is a cracker.
So we've got you basically shut down the gay Internet with that man like he was released a couple of days ago, and I swear to god it was sent to me by anyone that I know that's gay, and I know a lot of gay people.
Yeah, he will be a gay icon and he will love that too. But we we have Callum, who is Welsh. We've obviously got own our voice of a guy who is oursh We've got Holly who is very English like she literally is like a proper you know. We've got mitchh is a Kiwi. We've got Phoebe all no revealed her yet, so we've got a bomb coming later on who.
Is who is there? Phoebe's already there.
There's another Phoebe coming later. Okay, she's also Kiwi. We've got uh well, yeah, I can't tell you about the bombs that weren't released yet, but there's there's more accents and more flavors coming. It's the most diverse cast we've ever had.
I feel like you're shoving it down our throat though.
You know, like sometimes you're watching a series and you're like, oh God, these people you can tell that they sat there with a spreadsheet and tick some boxes to make sure they had all these people included, where this series.
Doesn't feel like that.
It feels very global without feeling like you're trying to tell us that it's global.
You know, we didn't we you know, it's like we sat there and said what we really need this time as an English person, the Welsh person, and the Kiwi person, they just happened to be incredibly good. Now, you know, diversity is really import on Australian television and I'm a big advocate for that. You know, every cast should, you know, should have representations of real Australia. You know, modern day
Australia is not all white faces. So yeah, I think it's really important diversity in reality casts, and you know we've always adhered to that. But the fact of the matter is if someone is not good enough to be on the show, it doesn't matter what color the skinners, or how tall they are or how whatever they are, They're not going to be in the show. So I just don't think you can shoehorn people in in. This
is past the talk test. But as you see, we've been really lucky because I know that at time of writing, you know you know who the first eleven sorry here first thirteen Ireland des are I believe, and everyone knows that Ow's going in as well. But you've got to remember there's double that number of Islanders all up, so it is a extraordinarily diverse and wonderful cast of young, hot Australians that you're going to meet.
Well, the media is already talking about the fact that Callum Hole is like going to be as big as Abby Chatfield.
I've heard that from a few people.
I said, soonce we met Callum. So it was Jalla and myself and Tina Diaz from the network and we were sitting in a room in Brisbane host Helm Brisbane, and we'd seen some of his Insta pittures and we knew that he was going to be good just from a little casting video we sent us. He walked into the room and honestly, within ten seconds we were not only like, this guy is in the show, but this guy is going to be a you know, network talent ongoing. He is bloody hilarious.
I can't wait.
Yeah, he just can't help but like him some of the things he does in the show. If he was anybody else, he would be the villain and everyone be throwing shit at the TV and saying I hate him, but for some reason he gets away with it because he's just very funny.
I've already bought the merch. I've already brought the callum hole merch. I think he's going to be a winner, you know. And interestingly enough with Abby Chadfield, not to keep going on about her makes it sound like I'm obsessed with her. She I feel like you really owned her fame, Like I felt like she was back in a corporate job and kind of forgotten about after her
Bachelor experience. And I feel like I had this debate with someone the other day and I was like, I think Alex mav putting her on I'm a celebrity was really the beginning of her. Like you really understood the essence of her with that fight with Dipper and you know, being a little bit woke and all that sort of stuff. Does that sit okay with you? Do you feel like you have some responsibility in her popularity.
I'm delighted to be known as the man who made over Abby Chatfool what she is. Look, I think that she really appreciates I'm a cleblock. She came up to me at the Logi's you know, big hug and you know old friends, and I think she really knows what I'm a celebrity did for her, and that is what i'm a celebrity, get me out of it can do for people, because you know, I mean Anthony Khleier as well.
I mean, you know Casey Donovan. You know, these were people that I'm going to say just kind of fading away a little bit at the time they went and I'm a sleib, and then suddenly they're on television for ninety minutes a night and everyone remembers why we love them in the first place, and their careers absolutely take off again after their Abby look, Abby did it all herself. You know. We we cast her, and she was an
easy casting choice because she's great talent. But you know, I'm a slipt to get me out of it such hands off producing. So yes, you know, if you want to say, by putting on the show, it gave her a second chance of fame when she's really picked up and picked the ball up and run with it. But
she did it all all herself. We put her in the show, but you know, she's just great talent and I think I think her socials are are brilliant, you know, like she's she's just so honest and open, and I think it's, you know, she's so new world that nobody do you remember when you know, when Facebook first came out for Instagram was even the thing, and everyone used to be a bit even at a little bit guarded. You know, it's like, oh, you know, here's my lovely
dinner and here's a picture of my grandma. You know. Now it's like, you know, this vibrator gives me the best fucking orgasm I've ever had in my life. You know, there's just no rules anymore.
I mean, I got Abby Chadfield's amazing and I sometimes I'm watching it. I'm looking at it and I'm like, am I looking at this? This is what I'm looking at? Like, you know, she's gone from telling me about what to do with my politics to all of a sudden just showing me her ass. And I'm like, well, you know, it's engaging content.
I think Abby is fantastic and good enough for change. God, she's on news dot com you every day, and I presume she's in the Daily Mail five times a day. I mean, she is a walking headline now, and hey, if I'm a slept to get me out of here. Put her back where she belongs, then, you know, good for us.
Why isn't she.
Back, though, Alex, Why isn't she back? You've got Josh Moss and Flex Marmy. I believe to do the side show. You know, why didn't Abby come back and do that?
I imagine that nine can't afford her anymore. So I'm just going to completely deflect this and say the side show has got nothing to do with myself or ITV. It's made completely by Channel nine Socials and a completely separate team.
So I still think Cassidy should do that. I keep thinking Cassidy from the first season. I'm sure she thinks I'm a stalker because I follow her on Instagram and everything and she doesn't follow me back. But I write about her all the time, being like best reality TV contestants presenter.
Why isn't she hosting these things? I don't understand.
Well, look, you know, Sophie is our host. But at some point I Sophie decided she doesn't want to do it anymore, which I would hate her to do because I absolutely adore her and love her. But you know, there may well be an opening for an exlander. But Cassidy was God, she was good that the day that she stole Grant of Taylor just to be just out of spite was a major, magnificent reality TV moment. Keep an armed stellar this year who looks like Cassidy and is a bit like Cassidy You're going to love?
Yeah, well, I'm there for that, which is amazing. I was also going to just quickly ask you about the fact that you know you'd be working on I'm a celebrity already by now, and it would be remissive me not to ask anything. But you know, with a huge name like boy George going into the Jungle this week for the UK series, I wondered whether or not you're
going to look for bigger names. Not to say that the people you've been you know, the pools that you've been swimming in or whatever that's saying is has been that the celebrities aren't huge. But you have had a lot of success with not having to spend two million dollars on a Shane warn you know what I mean, Like, are you going to go back to looking for someone like boy George?
God? Look, I'd love to say that we had the money that the UK have. I mean, they would be paying boy George a fortune. The joy of I'm a celebrity, as you know, as we just touched on before, is is rediscovery and so okay, So there's two types of people, and there's three types of people. And on the slip. Number one, people that everybody has heard of. That's Shane Warn, It's Grant Danya, It's Brendan Favohla, it's you know, it's the it's the big the big names that everybody has
heard of. Number two is people that have perhaps you know, gone out of the limelight a little bit, and you know, we want to reintroduce them to the world because you know, they're great talent. Number three is people that most of the Free Toware audience have never heard of that we are absolutely convinced that they're brilliant and are socially famous. So that is Charlotte Crosby and Justin Lacko and Vicky
Patterson and know that it's that type of person. I remember, Look, you know, Charlotte Crosby is one of the most famous reality TV contestants globally around the world. Right, and we still copped it when we put her in the jungle because most of your regular free to air TV viewers have no bloody idea who she is. The casting methodology of I'm a Celebrit is you always want about three or four people that you are convinced that ninety eight percent of people watching the show will have heard of.
There is always an enormous amount of pressure to get famous people. And the title of the show doesn't help either, because it's called I'm a Celebrity, Get Me out of Here, But it should be it should be called I'm a recognizable face that a lot of people know, Get me out of here. That's what it should be called, because it's ad never worked. Look, I'd love to get someone like boy George in the show, but it's not easy to make. Trust me, it's not. It's not easy casting on a celeb You're in a.
Title position though, because you're going back into Maine and ratings, Like you're in a ratings period now where you're going to be going up against a big show on the other net big shows on the other networks. You know, I kind of feel like I wondered whether because I kind of felt like the last few seasons have suited not having the biggest names because it's a summer series and it's I don't know.
Well, look, I mean, you know, I don't feel the ratings or you always feel the ratings pressure wherever it's on. I don't mind that it's going into that April slot. I feel like, you know, we can take the Pepsi challenge against anyone because it's an established brand, and you know, I stand by the fact it's a really good, funny show. But you know, people have got to understand that the casting around I'm a celeb is not for the ten most famous people that we can find. It just doesn't
work like that. I'm a Celebrity is about discovering people that you may not have heard of, but that a lot of people do know. It's about finding out new things about people that you definitely know, and it's about reminding you of people that you may have forgotten about.
I love it when we get people that are right on the in the peak of their career, Like it is so hard to get a sportsman who is currently active because obviously they're a sportsman or an athlete because they've got the Olympics, or someone or an actor who is you know, in their prime, because you know they're getting millions dollars from making movies or you know, or a Netflix series or an HBO series or a you know, a singer who is currently number one in the charts.
It's always going to be people who are on the up or have already reached their peak, and you want to remind them how good they are, because you're never going to get anybody at the peak of their career, because why would they come and sit in the jungle and eat ostrojass, you know, when they can sing a song and make millions of dollars.
A lot of celebrities and narcissists.
So I think that you rund up playing the fact that there's a lot of people that just want screen time, and those.
People still exist that are big a list celebrities.
I mean, give me three or four names that you believe that we could get that are a list celebrities that I can get to go to the jungle in April.
Emma Bundon from The Spice Girls. I think she just get her. I think she would be fantastic. I know that you always want to get someone like Van dam or Steven Sigal or one of those people. I think that, oh they're too faded, they're not a big star. Keith Urban. I'd like to see Keith Urban in there talking about Nicole Kippen and how he feels about Tom Cruise stealing her children.
Like you know, I just think.
Is a multi multi millionaire though, and you know it's is he really going to go in, you know, without the makeup and without the styling and you know asking.
Tell him you can have a GHD, say Urban, you could take You could take your GHD and nothing else. If you let Shane Bloody Warren have a few ciggy's on the side of the set, you can let Bloody Keith Urban get He's a GHD out and straight and he's here.
I promised to ask him a bunt and that's a really good idea. I think we've tried it once before, but I'll try her again.
I send you a list though, I've sent you a list and I don't want to even read it out now on this podcast in case it.
Means that you don't want to go after them.
But you know, I've got no shame.
I go after anybody, honestly, Bloody DM me put more Instagram to you.
You wrote back and said, thanks mate, I know at least three of those.
I'm talking to your listeners. Anybody also send me any celebrity suggestions that are within reason. You know, there is no point in sending me Jason Momoa because we're not going to get them, do you know what I mean? Like, let's be let's be reasonable here.
I think there are a few people on the prooferal anyway, I've send you that listen. I hope people listening to this also then hit you up and send you their list of people that they want, you know, join the conversation.
Thank you, dear me. I always read the dms, even the ones on the request lists that you know that you pretend that you don't read. I've read them all.
Can you tell us anything, just a small tease, like, what's something different than you're going to do with this? Like you, what's the general idea behind this? Is it a reboot of it because it's going into the main ratings period? Are there any conversations I.
Think we're going to put. We will push the fact that we were live harder than it ever before because there is no live TV around at the moment. I kind of had a chortal to myself, and the boss of Channel seven said, live TV is back about Australia because I think they've got four or five live shows. People forget that I'm a sleb. To get me out of here is twenty one live shows, you know, over
four weeks. You know, it's live every single morning from South Africa, every night from Australia, and it's ninety minutes of live TV every single day. So live TV really is back when I'm a slept and we're gonna we will ram that down people's throats because live TV is very exciting and very different at the moment. Like you know, what else is on TV other than sport and news that is genuinely, genuinely live. There's nothing.
There's nothing, and we need it because that's you know, as I've talked about that a thousand times over and I know the complications of doing live TV, but live TV in Australia talks to the people that still watch Free to Wear. There isn't a day that goes by without some random person coming up and talking to me about Big Brother. And that was ten years ago. And they only come up not to talk about me. They come up to say that. Why isn't Big Brother like
that anymore? Or why why are all these shows pre recorded?
We don't like it. And that's because.
Friday Night Live like that was a live game show every Friday night.
That audience that you're talking like, the audience I'm talking about now was the perfect audience. And they were the ones that turned up for Friday night games. And that is they are a little bit like the underdog. They weren't popular at school. There the TV and the people on TV are their friends. You know, I could it's hard to pay the picture of them, but they're the ones that come up and talk to me on the street.
And I want to say that they're lonely, but you know, television was a huge part of their life because they felt like they were a part of it, you know what I mean.
And also I would say, you know, Julia Morris gets looser every single year so separated.
From our husband, So are you going to make sure there's a plastic screen between her and doctor Chris Brown because I'm worried for his health.
I'm really worried for him.
Well, look, she's going to be on TV Live every single night, so at some point I'm sure she's going to put a foot in her mouth, and I'm sure with bloody gold when.
She does, I can't wait. I can't wait. Anyway we are. We've literally gone on for a very long time, but I know these episodes are my highest rating episodes talking to you, so I'm hoping people are still.
Probably because I say way too much and they'll get in tri get beaten up by David Moss at the end of it when he realizes all the stuff I've said that I'm not supposed to.
I'll say to him, make sure we get approval.
But I have to say this to you, like Jules, being from the block and being an executive producer in high regard, coming on the podcast also rated really well. But I can tell you there's so many producers that write to me and say I loved that episode with Jewels or I loved that episode with Alex, And I'm like, well, you produce one of the highest rating shows. Why can't you come on and talk? And they're like, oh no, They're like, oh no, I could never do that.
Who you're chasing, Paul and time to do it?
Give me some names, Caroline, I really like to have is in Spence I'd love to have Spence.
Caroline's good talent. Why can't you get her?
Because Warner's told her?
No Ah, right, all right, how do all end us?
We end up like this?
Every time anyone joins the podcast, everyone gets asked the same question. And you've already done this twice, so you have to outdo yourself and both hit the Daily Mail. One of them, I think had one hundred and eighty reprints of a story around the world. So no pressure, my friend. I've got what what is something from behind the scenes, something that we won't see, something that you know is a kind of behind the scenes secret from
making Love Island's let's keep it at Love Island. There's got to be something of a behind the scenes secret. It's a bit.
Outrageous, all right.
I'll tell you this one from Fiji. So this was a couple of years ago, but I, honestly, for a horrible thirty seconds thought I had a disabled Sophie Monk. So we had this deck in Fiji that had separation in between the wooden planks, and I remember when we were putting the villa together, I was saying, look, the
girls wear stiletto heels and Sophie wears heels. We've got to narrow this gap in between the wood and so I kept going on about this, and we had all of the tradees and all these kind of Fijian workmen who you know, couldn't understand because everybody wears thongs or bare feet in Fiji. They had clearly never been asked to narrow the gap in between the wooden planks in their lives. So anyway, the gaps were narrowed. I don't
know what they used. I'm going to say bloody blue tackle, chewing gum or something, because it clearly wasn't very effective, but they narrowed the gap between all these planks. We walked out, We inspected it yet great, all good, good to go, and we didn't have any issue when the girls walked in. So the girls walked out on episode one in their heels, and they all lined up and we did the pick and everything was fine. Sophie walks out for the first dumping. Now it's nighttime in Fiji.
I'm in the control room. I'm in Sophie Monk's ere and every single time Sophie's walking into villa, I'm giving you a her the rev up you know, Okay, here we go. So remember you're going to talk to Josh first and you're going to ask him about Anna, and then you're going to talk to Cartier and you're going to ask her this, My god, you look amazing. Keep walking Island was going to be out, Oh you looked
so hot. My god, that dress is amazing. And just as I was saying to her how hot and cool she looked, Sophie's heel goes right in between two of these planks of wood and she goes down like a sack of shit. And literally, Sophie Monk is sprawled on the deck in Fiji, and everybody went quiet, and the islanders didn't know whether to laugh or run up and help her, because you know, it's this dramatic kind of fire at the moment. And I've just like my heart
just stopped because I thought, if Sophie his leg is broken. Here, the series is over because it's twenty it's a twenty four hour turnaround show. Because it's not like we could fly anybody. I mean, obviously we would have had to fly flown out of replacement. But it's going to take them, you know, two days to get there. What do we do about Yeah, well, yeah, what do we do about? We do we dump one of the Islanders and get
them to host the show? You know, do we do we put a pair of heels on, you know, one of our production crew and get them to go in. Like I was absolutely panicked.
So she would be great, not just an editor. She was little sister back in the day.
She can do talent on Jarla rocks a pair of heels as well. When she when she when she wants to. Anyway, my heart was like had literally stopped. And Sophie Monk, God bless her, the ultimate professional hero that she has just bounced back up, swore a couple of times, you know, bowed to the Islanders who realized that they could clap and laugh, picked up a heel, walked straight back out, and then came in and did her sexy walk in
all over again and everything was fine. For thirty seconds, I had killed Sophie Monk.
Well, you know, I think that's amazing.
And Sophie is so good, Like every time I run into her, she's really funny. She's everything that you see on television. She's kind of a bit you know there. I don't know why she's just so relatable, even though she looks like perfection, you know what I mean.
Like, isn't that weird that she looks that good?
I would love Sophie Monk to do imot to get me out of her. I'm not sure she's contractually contractually allowed to. Obviously she's She's Love on the Channel nine.
But my god, SOPHI would do that show like.
I don't think she cares like as much as she can turn into the glamour. I've also seen her like I've been on radio shows with her where she's just sitting in her tracksuit and she's great like that, you know, she's great, a little bit relaxed.
And Sophie is a woman of the people. She says what the audience think. She asks the questions the audience want to ask. That's why she's so popular. She's just fantastic. She's so down to worth. I absolutely love her.
Alex. I am obsessed with you, as you know.
I think you are fantastic talent on this podcast. I really appreciate you coming on here and talking about Love Island.
But to the audience out there.
That is listening, you need to watch this show because it is addictive.
It's addictive, like you know, and it's good addictive.
It's not addictive like being a drunk or smoking tan packets of cigarettes. It's addictive like you know, you walk away feeling fun like it's a fun show.
It's a great series. You are going to love it. Start watching it on nine now immediately if you haven't watched it yet, you're gonna love it.
Amazing. Thanks so much for your time.
Okay mate, thanks, Thanks Beren. Taking easy