But after first being teased all the way back in 2016, and then following a nationwide casting call for people looking to expose online love interests who may not be telling the full truth that was announced October 2020, the first ever UK spin-off of the smash hit reality MTV show Catfish is set to hit our screens next month.
A one-minute teaser clip for the new series has been shared with the show’s fans on social media last week, and it’s already got people talking.
The original US-made Catfish: The TV Show – which first aired back in 2012, after a documentary of the same name – sees documentary maker Nev Shulman meet individuals from across the country who have fallen in love online, only to grow suspicious when the target of their affections refuse to meet in real life.
The show has undeniably proved popular with viewers worldwide over its eight seasons on air, hence why a spin-off is on the way.
ADVERTISEMENT
But what can we actually expect from the UK version when the new series starts?
Here’s everything we know so far.
ADVERTISEMENT
___
What is Catfish UK: The TV Show?
Catfish UK: The TV Show is the UK spin-off of the US original documentary and MTV series of the same name, and it’s set to air on MTV UK next month, with a run of four, hour-long episodes being broadcast at first, before continuing with a further six episodes later this year.
Unfamiliar with what a ‘catfish’ is?
ADVERTISEMENT
A popular term on the internet, a ‘catfish’ is someone who creates fake personal profiles on social sites using someone else’s pictures and false biographical information to pretend to be someone else.
These ‘catfish’ usually intend to trick an unsuspecting person or more into falling in love with them.
The term is believed to have derived from the title of the previously-mentioned 2010 documentary, in which filmmaker Schulman discovers that the woman with whom he’d been carrying on an online relationship had not been honest in describing herself.
Who are the hosts?
MTV / Catfish UK: The TV Show
Although the US hosts, Nev Shulman and Kamie Crawford, have been a big part of the promotion and casting process of the show, they will not be making the trip overseas to front the UK spin-off and have instead handed the reins over to former Apple Music Beats 1 presenter, Julie Adenuga, and journalist / author and documentary filmmaker, Oobah Bulter.
“As someone who has spent the most part of my career in the bubble of music and entertainment, Catfish UK is my first chance to connect with people in a completely different way, which is really exciting for me.” Julie Adenuga explained.
ADVERTISEMENT
“The show is about vulnerability, empathy… and drama. Rule #1 – expect the un-expected”.
🗣🗣🗣🗣🗣🗣🗣🗣🗣 I’M HOSTING AN INTERNATIONAL TELEVISION SHOW…🤪… ONE. HUNDRED. AND. EIGHTY. COUNTRIES!
Oobah Bulter added: It’s wild to me that the person who learned about the internet and deception by watching Catfish with his five brothers and sisters gets to be a part of its latest chapter.
“We live in a moment where everybody’s lives have moved online.
“I can’t wait to travel around the country, meet people, and use the tools I’ve developed making documentaries, to help them and better understand what it is about society that drives people to feel so inadequate that they cannot be themselves.”
Will there be any Mancs on the new series?
Although the one-minute teaser trailer clip for the series appears to show the new hosts reacting to various relationship revelations – including “an affair” and a “criminal” dater – it is yet to be announced who will be featured on the new series and what their circumstances will be, but given the fact that a UK-wide casting call was opened last October, we can expect to hear stories from people all across the country.
ADVERTISEMENT
The casting call asked anyone over 18 years of age who suspects they’re “in love with, speaking to, or are just friends with someone who may be a Catfish” to get in touch.
Mancunians were urged by MTV to get involved, so we’ll just have to wait and see.
When will it air?
Aside from it being revealed that it is to air from next month, no exact start date for the show has been confirmed by MTV UK at this moment in time, with the latest teaser clip for the show simply announcing that it will be “coming soon”.
Fans are being encouraged to “watch this space”.
You can keep up to date with Catfish UK: The TV Show on Facebook and Twitter.
Trending
Flashbacks: The timelapse of the Trafford Centre construction that’s gone viral
Danny Jones
The Trafford Centre might look like some decadent Roman emperor’s palace or as if it was plucked from the heart of Ancient Grecian city, but as anyone old enough to remember it’s opening and/or construction will tell you, it seems strange to think its not even been around for three decades yet.
As Greater Manchester’s and one of the North West’s most famous shopping centres full stop, the iconic attraction first began being built back in 1996, when John Major was Prime Minister, Manchester United were still Premier League champions, Britpop was at its peak and George Michael was number one.
It’s fair to say that a lot has changed since then and although Oasis might be back come 2025, The Trafford Centre and surrounding area are pretty unrecgonisable compared to nearly 30 years ago.
All told, it took approximately 27 months to erect the neo-classical epicentre of all things shopping, leisure, food and fanciness – and here’s what the process looked like:
With the initial 14 million sq ft shopping centre being completed in September 1998 following approximately 810 days of work, The Trafford Centre debuted to the Manc public and beyond.
It took more than 3,000 builders to bring the 60 hectare site to life at the peak of construction and since then the plot has only grown bigger, bolder and more ambitious over time.
Present day, it has everything from cinema screens and a mini Legoland to a Sea Life location, multiple bowling alleys and countless other forms of entertainment beyond just rows of shops and restaurants – hence why it remains busy pretty much year-round.
Back then, British celebrities, popular local names of note, politicians, dignitaries and prominent figures from the retail industry got to visit as part of exclusive preview events in the days before its launch date.
You can see the spectacle and fascination surrounding the official opening event here:
Seems surreal watching this today but the construction of the Trafford Centre was a huge moment not just for 0161 but all of the North.
But of course, the entire complex itself has seen multiple extensions over the years, including massive developments such as Barton Square and The Great Hall.
At the outset, it cost more than £600 million to build The Trafford Centre; the major renovations mentioned above which took place in 2008 cost another £100m and the Trafford Palazzo revamp around a decade later came in at around £75m.
There has and always will be lots of money put behind this intruguing monument to modern consumerism, and big brands will continue to flock to open units within the huge expanse whenever they can: some of the most recent being Archie’s, Flying Tiger, Sephora, Tiffany, Gymshark and more.
We’ll admit the aesthetic still makes us double-take from time to time (though not as much as confused Londoners visiting for the first time), but it’s not like this part of the world hasn’t boasted plenty of other curiosities in the past…
Featured Images — Charles Bowring (via Wikimedia Commons)/The Manc Group
Trending
‘Nothing is eternal’: Is Pep Guardiola hinting at the end of Manchester City’s supremacy?
Danny Jones
Pep Guardiola looks to have suggested that more than a decade of Manchester City’s supremacy and Premier League dominance at the very least might be coming to an end.
Speaking in his post-match press interviews after City were knocked out of the Champions League by serial European Cup winners Real Madrid, Guardiola cut a somewhat more deflated figure than usual following the 3-1 defeat.
A Kylian Mbappe hattrick which was closed out within an hour of play was enough to stretch the aggregate score to 6-3 over the two legs and Madrid doubling their lead across the tie proved yet again why, not unlike City domestically over the last decade, they’re the kings of the continental competition.
In contrast, however, Pep seemed to accept the loss much more easily than perhaps we’ve seen in the past and rather than appearing familiarly frustrated or defiant in the press conference; instead, he seemed rather reflective, responding to one reporter: “Nothing is eternal”.
🗣️ "Nothing is eternal" – Pep Guardiola.
🔵 Subscribe to our Manchester City page on BBC Sounds for the latest interviews. #MCFC#bbcfootball
Insisting that they have to decide whether a significant rebuild is needed to keep competing at the very top level consistently as they have done since the 54-year-old arrived back in 2016, he argued that it is only with that they’ll be able to determine what comes next.
As for the result itself, he made no bones about Carlo Ancelotti’s side having “deserved it”, stating simply that “the best team won” and that fans and players alike have to “accept the reality: they were better.”
Having been a familiar foe for Pep long before he arrived in Manchester, both at Barcelona and Bayern Munich – not to mention City having faced Los Blancos a dozen times before Tuesday night since 2012 – there have been less surprising outcomes for supporters to come to terms with.
“With time, the club and everyone is going to accept what it is but for now we have 30/40 games for the Premier League next season to try and be here [in the Champions League] and to improve. Nothing is eternal”, said the Catalan coaching genius.
On the other hand, he also went on to add that it was merely a reflection on the night itself and not what his team have achieved in recent years.
He went on to remark that “when we were playing outstanding it hurt more” to be knocked out of the UCL when he felt they deserved to stay in it, but still insisted: “We have been unbelievable and we have to try step by step to get better from today.” Tonight just wasn’t the night.
Who knows? Perhaps it was just some more melodrama from a manager with an undeniable flare for pageantry and playing into/in the face of narratives when he doesn’t come out on top – which hasn’t happened all that often until their dip in form this season.
Plus, there’s certainly still plenty for him and the fans to be positive about; not only has the arrival of their ‘Egyptian Prince’ and the media’s Mo Salah successor, Omar Marmoush, got plenty of people excited – especially after that first-half hattrick against Newcastle – but so too have the other January signings.
In fact, for all of his downplaying in this particular presser (which you can hear in full HERE), it felt like there were only upsides after their victory over Newcastle, even going so far as to dub new signing Nico Gonzalez a ‘mini-Rodri‘.
You can watch the highlights from the game down below:
Pep is right, nothing is eternal – but sometimes you just come up against talents like Mbappe and there’s very little anyone can do about it.
Emily Sergeant -
15th March 2021 
