Programmers are capitalising on the UK’s bleak reality with shows that seem to promise a glamorous life abroad
The thrill of reality TV has always been its escapism. Lately, though, I have been gobbling up a new crop of BBC reality shows, such as Ibiza Dreams and Inside Dubai: Playground of the Rich, which seem less about escapism than offering British people an exit plan. A similar story will become the basis for the upcoming BBC show Dubai Hustle, in which 20-something Britons compete to sell Dubai real estate. The contestants’ desperation to escape the UK’s “bleak employment prospects” – as the programme’s promotional material puts it – is being deployed to raise the TV stakes.
The dream these shows are selling is expatriation: to physically escape (preferably for ever) the UK. Dubbed “aspirational” within the TV industry, the programmes follow UK citizens who swap underpaid jobs in British supermarkets and call centres to pursue glamorous careers in places such as Dubai and Ibiza. In Inside Dubai, the BBC makes no mention of the city state’s well-documented use of slave labour, preferring to paint it as an Oz-like land of milk and honey – a place where you can hire a servant, or drink a cappuccino decorated with a foamy picture of your own face. A place where, if you are a clever expat, you can make tax-free millions doing strange and wonderful things such as selling truffles, or organising birthday parties for dogs.
Kitty Drake is a writer and editor based in London
