Carré Viiip marks a decade of reality TV in France

It's 10 years since television viewers in France were first "treated" to the delights of reality TV.

And to mark the occasion, TF1 has launched what can only be described as a right load of rubbish - wannabe-celebrity style.

Carré Viiip - yes there really are that many "i"s in what presenter Elsa Fayer told the almost four million in front of their screens for Friday's launch - stands for "Verrry eemporrrrtant perrrrrson".

It unites eight supposéd celebrities with the same number of anonymous wannabes eager to take their place.

Celebrities Benoît Dubois and Thomas Vitello (screenshot from Carré Viiip trailer)

From now until the end of May the viewers will get the chance to determine which particular non-entity will walk off with the €150,000 first prize, and the show promises to be as idiotic as the concept.

A concept which is simple - isn't it always? - with no need for Einstein revelations.

Eight supposéd "stars" (the term has to be used loosely) - each a product of previous TV reality shows of similarly dubious taste - are challenged for their VIP status by eight "wannabes" (or Wanna Viiips).

They live together in the tackiest (it's all a matter of taste perhaps, but...) of luxury lofts and are expected over the coming weeks to "create a buzz" within the media and drum up something that resembles more than 15 minutes of fame.

At their disposal they have the support of several weekly glossy gossip rags, personalised websites, a whole machinery of self-promotion provided by the production team and daily appearances (of course) on French TV screens.

Each week the public will vote and one not-so-important-after-all person will be eliminated.

As usual the means to stay in the game are likely to be as vulgar as those that have become the trademark of reality TV: screaming, shouting, insults, lewdness, nudity and general idiocy - which shouldn't be too much of a stretch.

If anyone who flips on the television remote is under the impression that it couldn't get worse after Loft 1 and 2, Secret Story 1, 2, 4 and 4, Dilemma, Ile de la tentation, La Ferme Célébrités, Qui veut épouser mon fils ? and a whole host of other trash TV, then TF1 looks set to try to prove otherwise.

Perhaps it's all meant to be "ironic" - well apparently at least as far as the production team might be concerned.

But the line-up of celebs and wannabes somehow casts doubt on that, as most would probably be incapable of spelling "irony" let alone recognising its existence.

Yes they might be "playing a role" - or "overplaying" it might be more appropriate - in a completely fake concept destined to amuse and entertain, but somehow it's hard to imagine that the likes of Benoît, Cindy or François-Xavier (some of the so-called celebs) or their pretenders, Xénia, Aurélie or Noam will have anything other a fleeting impact on those watching.

Let's hope so.

In the meantime it's "Vive la France, vive la télé-réalité!"

French reality TV's gay touch

As one reality show disappears from the screen of France's most popular national TV channel another one takes its place.

And both have something more in common than their time slot, target audience and less-than-challenging level of mindless entertainment; what could be called a gay touch.

Benjamin and Odile - son and mother from "Qui veut épouser mon fils ?" (snapshot from TF1 teaser)

"Secret Story" finished last week and it was the openly gay Benoît Dubois who picked up the winner's cheque of €150,000.

Dubois and his sidekick Thomas Vitiello seemed to become something of a cult among younger viewers especially as they camped and cattily commented their way through the three months they spent together.

The pair met in the Big Brother-style house and quickly formed the indomitable duo of "Brigitte and Josiane" (Dubois and Vitiello respectively) aka for the purposes of the show as the "Gayssip boys" - a term dreamt up for them by the production team.

And if all goes according to (their) plans Dubois and Vitiello have said they hope they'll become a more permanent feature on French television screens in the near future!

With Secret Story over, TF1 is serving up the delicious "Qui veut épouser mon fils ?" ("Who wants to marry my son?") as a replacement.

As the title suggests it features mothers - five of them - who will try to find future brides for their still-at-home male offspring.

Except from the teaser provided by TF1, it's clear that not all of the mothers involved are looking for potential daughters-in-law.

One of them, Odile, is looking for a "husband" (inverted commas because same-sex marriage doesn't exists in France although civil unions in the forms of PACS do) for her 28-year-old son, Benjamin.

Exclu web les premieres images de l episode 1 qui veut épouser mon fils Vidéo qui-veut-epouser-mon-fils sélectionnée dans TV/Séries

His participation marks the first time a reality television programme of the genre in which contestants "search for love"on a major domestic channel in France includes an openly gay man.

And to an extent TF1 has stolen a march over its main commercial rival M6.

It was supposed to feature a gay farmer among its candidates in the last season of "L'amour est dans le pré" ("Farmer wants a wife") but he reportedly pulled out at the last moment.

Is Benjamin's involvement in the show a bold move for TF1, a reflection of changes in French society or simply a ploy to boost audience figures by attracting the "pink" viewer - or all three?

Of course it's not the first time there has been a gay contestant in a reality TV show in France.

Back in 2002 during the second season of "Loft Story" on M6, one of the eventual winners, Thomas Saillofest, came out.

In last year's edition of "Secret Story" there was a lesbian couple from Belgium who split soon after the show finished.

A similar fate befell another Belgian couple (male) after they were eliminated during the last season of Pékin Express on M6 (even though they purportedly went into show to test the strength of their relationship with a view to tying the knot officially afterwards.)

And let's not forget "Zhoom", launched earlier this month on Pink TV, the country's only gay channel.