The plot twists in Fox’s reality series Joe Millionaire and NBC’s The Joe Shmoe Show have nothing on British TV channel Sky One’s There’s Something About Miriam.
Sky TV has pulled the plug on the reality dating show, which was scheduled to air Nov. 16, after several of its contestants threatened to sue over the program’s surprise twist. It turns out the “something” about Miriam, the woman being wooed by men on the show, is that she is a pre-operative, male-to-female transsexual.
Six of the show’s male contestants, including a Royal Marine commando, a ski instructor and an ex-lifeguard, have threatened to sue Sky for defamation, breach of contract, personal injury and conspiracy to commit sexual assault, since several of them had kissed and cuddled someone they believed to be a biological woman.
According to the BBC News, one of the men is said to have broken down in tears of humiliation when the twist was revealed. Some of the production crew reportedly sympathized with the men’s reaction.
The celebrity law firm Schillings, whose clients have included Nicole Kidman, Naomi Campbell and J.K. Rowling, is representing the men–all of whom are about to find out just how binding the release forms routinely signed by participants in TV programs are.
The network denies violating its contracts with the participants and says it is examining further legal options.
A rep for the show told Variety they had made a point of never referring to Miriam as a woman when getting the contestants to take part. “As Miriam is a transsexual, I would never refer to her as male or female. She is a gorgeous creature,” he said.
In a recruitment ad for the show, producer Brighter Pictures offered “the adventure of a lifetime” with a 10,000 pound ($16,940) prize to men aged 20 to 35 who “want it all” and are “fit and up for everything.”
Brighter Pictures, a unit of the production company Endemol, also created the reality shows Big Brother and Fear Factor.
