The way to make tired formats seem bold and exciting? Stick in 100 participants! Or at least the makers of Physical: 100 and Dance 100 certainly think so …

From festive insults to ropey charity singalongs – all clearly shot at the wrong time of year – seasonal specials from the likes of Towie are a comical joy. Hopefully their days aren’t numbered …

From the paranoia caused by Matt Hancock on I’m A Celeb to the utterly jaw-dropping scenes in Netflix’s The Mole, double agents on reality TV are must-see viewing

It’s the drama that never stops – real life. With excitement that leaps from the television onto its stars’ social feed, is it any wonder viewers are turning to reality TV for their frothy fix?

Netflix’s new reality series is the latest attempt to add a quirky twist to ITV2’s iconic dating show. But no amount of sibling dates can liven up a poor imitation

From an Amazon dating show where old crushes appear out of a pseudo-time portal to Jacques on Love Island’s ‘sex flashbacks’ to his former girlfriend, lost loves make for irresistible TV

Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu has stirred up so much drama that she already belongs in the show’s hall of fame. Femme fatales like her make Love Island great

Justifying outrageous television as a ‘social experiment’ isn’t new, but exploitative shows are increasingly using it to tear couples apart – and no one believes them

A new wave of shows like Channel 4’s The Simpler Life are trying to take us offline. But all it shows is that producers are running out of ideas

Since Lord Sugar and his wannabes were last on our screens, the world has endured two years of a pandemic. You’d never know it from the new series – and I for one am grateful

Aspirational black women take centre stage in Netflix’s new Selling Sunset spin-off. It’s time British reality shows followed suit

If you renounce your reality past, will you suddenly make it as a model? Love Island’s Maura Higgins is one of many ex-contestants who think so

The show’s first deaf contestant, Rose Ayling-Ellis, has wowed viewers of the dance competition, which – behind the spray tans and sequins – offers radical on-screen representation

Eschewing fakery and influencers, this novel new series sees contestants secretly filmed from the moment they walk on set. It could be a gamechanger – as long as they don’t catch on

It’s taken the world by storm with its tale of bloody deaths used as entertainment. But the Korean hit is just the latest thriller to take inspiration from the games we voluntarily play

From I Wanna Marry “Harry” to Playing It Straight, we’ve long been drawn to deception on reality shows. However, there’s a new breed taking a kinder, gentler approach

Follow-up specials might seem like an attempt to squeeze the last drops of relevance from a show, but, increasingly, they’re where much of the all-important action happens

On dating shows and beyond, coupling up seems to be the key to success. But for every smitten pairing, there’s another capitalising on the popularity of the ‘showmance’