Most shocking reality TV moments of 2018
Ant McPartlin shocked the nation this year when he entered rehab for substance abuse and shortly after caused a three car crash after driving under the influence. The television presenter, famous for being one-half of Ant & Dec, pleaded guilty to drink-driving in April and was forced to pay a £83,000 fine and undergo a 20 month driving ban.
Following Ant McPartlin’s arrest he was absent from the last few episodes of Britain’s Got Talent. But one of the most shocking moments of this year’s talent competition series was when Big Narstie pushed a finalist. Contestant stand-up comedian Robert White – who has Asperger’s Syndrome – attempted to dance with the rapper – but it didn’t go too well. As he tried to bust a move as singer Anne Marie performed live, Big Narstie shoved him out of the way. All caught on camera, BGT host Stephen Mulhern appeared utterly flumexed by the incident. Fans at home also were shocked, with some accusing Big Narstie of being a bully and behaving aggressively.
Dani Dyer, the 22-year-old daughter of EastEnders actor Danny Dyer, became a standout star on this year’s Love Island thanks to her old-fashioned values and down to earth attitude. And her fanbase didn’t take too kindly when Love Island producers made it seem like her co-star and boyfriend Jack Fincham was cheating on her with his ex. Clever editing deceived Dyer, and fans slammed the deception as ‘gaslighting’. And since leaving the reality show the couple have had their ups and downs. Weeks ago Dyer announced they’d broken up which was quickly followed by Fincham caught on tape gossiping about her. But apparently the couple have reconciled and are back together just in time for Christmas. Young love!
2018 marked Channel 5’s last ever Celebrity Big Brother and Big Brother and CBB was based the final series around the alleged former lover of President Donald Trump – Stormy Daniels – entering the house. But despite theming the entire show around her participation and even building a ‘White House’ in the garden, she was a no show. Pulling out of the series for ‘legal reasons’ she cancelled her appearance reportedly less than a hour before the live premiere began.
Fortunately there was PLENTY of drama on Celebrity Big Brother despite Stormy Daniels not turning up, including disgraced footballer Jermaine Pennant revealing himself to be a bit of a love rat. The married man told kidnap victim and fellow CBB housemate Chloe Ayling that he was single and the pair swapped love notes and even briefly kissed. Pennant went on to defend his actions and brushed off his flirtations as just ‘banter.’ But a humiliated Ayling didn’t feel the same on her eviction and slammed his behaviour as ‘disgusting.’
Former Emmerdale actress Roxanne Pallet was probably hoping to reboot her flagging acting career on Celebrity Big Brother but instead she emerged as the self-labeled ‘most hated girl in Britain.’ Pallet falsely accused former Coronation Street actor Ryan Thomas of punching her. Footage proved otherwise and she tried to convince CBB producers to kick Thomas off the show. Leaving the series herself in the middle of the night, Pallet went on to grovel to Jeremy Vine and Emma Willis – but she did little to change the huge public backlash against her shocking actions.
But we weren’t done with Pallet just yet. Weeks aftter CBB ended, Celebrity Island returned on Channel 4, and yep Pallet was one of the Z Listers to compete in the survival-style competition show. However, her time on the island was cut extremely short – as she quit just one epsiode in. Pallet continually complained throughout the premiere episode and when she heard firesmoke in the night she suffered a panic attack. Pallet claimed the smoky smells reminded her of a traumatic housefire from her childhood.
After last year’s sinking viewing numbers, Cowell revamped the X Factor judge line-up by signing up new judges Louis Tomlinson, Robbie Williams and his wife Ayda Field. Field, who has no known work experience in the music industry, received a lot of public backlash for signing up for the show. Meanwhile, many viewers accused her husband of making it into the ‘Robbie Williams show’ by joining an auditionee on the first episode on stage for a rather cheesy rendition of his hit song ‘Angels.’
And X Factor had many issues throughout the series, so much so that viewers joked that it had been ‘cursed.’ One reoccuring issue was sound glitches. Firstly Danny Tetley was announced as the wrong singer and played the wrong backing track, and then in a later epsiode a sound transmission issue made Tetley and Anthony Russell sounding like ‘daleks.’
Despite Williams being accused of hogging the spotlight, he suddenly disappeared from the show midseason to tour in South America. Fans were shocked when Nile Rodgers stepped in to temporarily replace him. The Chic co-founder and songwriter wasn’t particularly well received, with many viewers accusing him of appearing both bored and confused during the live shows. And Williams absence had a devastating effect on his acts, as none of his Groups acts reached the final.
Cowell was clearly hoping to save the once biggest show on British telly this year by shelling out millions to secure Williams, Field and Tomlinson. But the investment failed to pay off – and quite considerably – as this series saw the lowest X Factor viewer ratings in its 15 year history. Cowell has brushed off the record low ratings, and says not until will he keep the show going until at least 2022, but he hopes to one day hand the franchise over to his four-year-old son Eric Cowell.
This year’s Strictly Come Dancing was a huge ratings success and also scandal plagued from the get-go. The first scandal to hit was a surprise kiss between Seann Walsh and married Katya Jones. The Strictly couple were caught kisssing outside a Marylebone, London pub and both went on to apologise for their ‘one-off mistake.’ While Seann Walsh was swiftly dumped by his actress girlfriend Rebecca Humphries, Strictly pros Katya Jones and Neil Jones remain married.
Next up is Capital Radio host Vick Hope who upon her Strictly elimination accused the dance competition show of being ‘fixed’ and said she struggled to understand her Strictly pro partner Italian Graziano Di Prima. This apparently didn’t go down well with the Beeb, and she was reportedly banned from returning from the show or ever appearing on the BBC again.
Former Death in Paradise and Red Dwarf actor Danny John-Jules reportedly bullied his dance partner Amy Dowden. The 58-year-old thespian allegedly told Dowden that he ‘was the star’ and left her in tears during rehearsals. John-Jules adamantly denied the claims, and even alluded that the journalists that reported the story were racists. However, upon his elimination a week after the reports emerged, he failed to turn up to the shows spin-off It Takes Two. Dowden did appear however, and burst out crying when talking about her experience on the show.
Former Pussycat Doll member Ashley Roberts consistently scored phonemonal scores on Strictly Come Dancing but she suffered tremendous backlash from the public due to her past dancing background. Many viewers argued it was unfair for her to be on the show given her decades worth of professional dance training. She found herself in the bottom two three times in a row, but still maanged to make it to the final four.
And yet another romance emerged on Strictly Come Dancing. 27-year-old vlogger Joe Sugg has finally confirmed he is indeed in a relationship with his Strictly pro partner Dianne Buswell. The 29-year-old red-haired Aussie reportedly dumped her Emmerdale actor boyfriend Anthony Quinlan just weeks into the show for Sugg.
Holly Willoughby took a break from the This Morning couch to step into Ant McPartlin’s hosting shoes on I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here! while he takes a break from television due to his drink and substance abuse issues. Willoughby was initially slated for her ‘awkward’ live hosting duties, but clearly won over the fans as the series received its highest ratings in years.
Former Deal or No Deal host Noel Edmonds was reportedly the highest paid I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here! contestant ever. Paid a reported £600,000 it seems to have been a poor investment on ITV’s part as he was the first to be evicted from the reality show. Already a late arrival, he only lasted nine days on the show. And immediately after he was evicted out of the jungle, rumours spread that he was still on bad terms with Holly Willoughby after their epic This Morning clash back in 2016.
The Chase star Anne Hegerty, also known as ‘The Governess,’ almost quit I’m a Celebrity just hours into the jungle. The 60-year-old who has been diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome, struggled to cope with the harsh jungle conditions at first and said she wanted to quit. However her campmates rallied around her and she quickly became a firm favourite by both her campmates and the British public. But some fans weren’t happy when ITV aired a scene of her farting next to campmate Nick Knowles. Even though she herself laughed it off at the time, some viewers thought it was a deliberately cruel move on the show’s producers part.
This year’s series was hit by several ‘fix’ and ‘fakery’ claims. First up viewers were left scratching their heads when several of the ‘vegan’ campmates were filmed chowing down on meat. Then Holly Willoughby’s jumper magically changed design midscene, and some viewers even accused Hegerty of downing a pint of diet coke in an eating challenge. And last by no means least, Malique Thompson-Dwyer was caught wearing his eviction backpack before his eviction was announced.
This year only one campmate suffered an accident. Actor John Barrowman twisted his ankle during a fall but was back in the jungle the same day after a quick check-up at a nearby hospital. But two of I’m a Celebrity: Extra Camp hosts suffered far worse injuries. Joel Dommett had to have seven stiches on his head after a sign was blown onto him on set. And then his fellow co-host had to have a cockroach surgically removed from his ear after it got lodged in during a Bushtucker style trial that went very wrong indeed.
2018 has proven to be a massive year for reality television scandals, dramas and some major surprises. From Stormy Daniels pulling out of the last ever series of Celebrity Big Brother at the very last moment to Ant McPartlin’s shock drink-driving arrest – there’s been no shortage of unforgettable moments.
Scroll through our round-up of what we believe to be the most shocking reality television moments of the year…
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