Featured Image Credit: Channel 4
Topics: TV And Film, Reality TV, UK News, News
Rhianna Benson
Warning: This article contains discussion of discrimination against the LGBTQ+ community and suicide which some readers may find distressing
British telly-lovers have had their pick of the mix when it comes to reality TV for the last few decades.
Love Island, Gogglebox, Big Brother, Married At First Sight, Made in Chelsea, TOWIE, Dinner Date... there's quite literally a show for every appetite.
For the most part, these series provide viewers with the name-throwing, booze-spilling, feel-good carnage that we so crave.
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They also serve to remind us, however, that there was once a darker side to reality television, which often saw contestants exploited and subsequently neglected, all in the name of entertainment.
Such is the premise of a harrowing new Channel 4 documentary, which tells the story of late transgender woman Miriam Rivera, who appeared in the controversial reality series There's Something About Miriam on Sky 1 back in 2004.
For those unfamiliar with the premise of this now-disgraced dating show, Mexican model Miriam joined the series in the hope of finding love with one of the six male contestants who had flown out to Ibiza to try win her over and walk away with a £10,000 prize.
Whilst the audience watching from home were aware that brunette beauty Miriam was a transgender woman, that fact was withheld from the male contestants until the ultimate episode.
In what has since gone down as one of the most controversial and immoral on-screen moments, the time finally came for Miriam to announce her 'secret' to her chosen love interest Tom and the five other contestants.
"I tried to be honest with all of you as much as I can. Yes, I'm from Mexico, I'm a model and I'm 21," she can be heard saying in the since-viral clip, as well as the newly-released Channel 4 documentary, titled Miriam: Death Of A Reality Star.
"But, Tom, I really love spending time with you. I love men and I love being a woman. But I'm not a woman, I was born as a man."
The male contestants can then be heard bursting into laughter, whilst 'chosen' star Tom appeared sick in the face, accusing her of 'lying to everybody'.
It was later confirmed by producers that Miriam's 'big reveal' was scripted, and they now claim to have made a big mistake by mocking her on the show due to the 'extremely volatile' reaction from many working on the show.
Also speaking in the new documentary, the show's psychiatrist claims that he was hired to care for the 'blindsided' men, insisting that there was no thought given at all to the toll it might take on Miriam's mental health.
"The reveal was her coming out to the world and as far as I was aware, Miriam hadn't been psych tested," they said.
"How would she deal with rejection? Not just from who she picked, but everyone who thought trans people were freaks. They sold her a dream without anybody telling her what could go wrong.
"I thought, she's vulnerable, she's had a really really hard life, like a bird with a broken wing."
When the show came to an end, Tom rejected the cash prize and he and his co-stars launched a lawsuit against producers, alleging conspiracy to commit sexual assault, defamation, breach of contract, and personal injury in the form of psychological and emotional damage and ultimately settled for an undisclosed amount.
As for Miriam, her story would only end in heartbreak, after the TV star was found dead in her mother's apartment in 2019 at the age of 38 following an apparent suicide.
Speaking of the tragedy on the new Channel 4 documentary, production executive of the original dating show Jo Josun stunned viewers after admitting: "I didn't feel anything. I'm in the business of making television shows.
"I didn't feel anything about the format that I felt was bad or wrong. I didn't feel that way, I really didn't. Do I think it went beyond any moral codes of conduct? No."
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, contact the LGBT Foundation on 0345 3 30 30 30, 10am–6pm Monday to Friday, or email [email protected].