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 hitting our TV screens this week..
Several teaser clips for the new series have been shared on social media over the past few weeks to hype up the fans, but now the official air date has finally been announced.
The first episode of Catfish UK will air on Wednesday 21st April at 9pm on MTV UK.
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.
ADVERTISEMENT
The show has undeniably proved popular with viewers worldwide over its eight seasons on air, hence why a spin-off is on the way.
But what can we actually expect from the UK version when the new series starts?
ADVERTISEMENT
Here’s everything we know so far.
___
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.
ADVERTISEMENT
Unfamiliar with what a ‘catfish’ is?
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.
ADVERTISEMENT
“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.
“The show is about vulnerability, empathy… and drama. Rule #1 – expect the un-expected”.
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.”
ADVERTISEMENT
Will there be any Mancs on the new series?
Although the various teaser trailer clips 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.
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.
The new series begins on Wednesday 21st April at 9pm on MTV UK, and you can keep up to date with Catfish UK: The TV Show on Facebook and Twitter.
Featured Image – MTV / Catfish UK: The TV Show
Trending
The cheapest Christmas Markets in the world for mulled wine have been revealed
Daisy Jackson
The most affordable Christmas Markets for drinking mulled wine have been revealed – and Manchester is nowhere in sight.
With Christmas markets across Europe preparing to welcome millions of visitors, festive fans looking to enjoy a warming cup of glühwein without breaking the bank might want to take note of the latest findings.
Festive experts at Christmas Tree World have analysed mulled wine prices at Christmas markets around the world to discover where visitors can enjoy the seasonal favourite for less.
Topping the rankings is Brussels’ Winter Wonders, where mulled wine is available for as little as £2.14 – about a third of the price of a mulled wine at the Manchester Christmas Markets.
Cologne Cathedral Christmas Markets and Strasbourg’s Christkindelsmärik share second place, with starting prices of just £2.56.
Other European favourites also feature prominently in the rankings. Budapest’s Christmas Market at the Basilica takes fourth place, with mulled wine costing £3.19, while Prague’s Old Town Square Christmas Market comes in sixth at £3.55.
Germany makes another strong appearance, with Dresden’s Striezelmarkt and Nuremberg’s Christkindlesmarkt (which handily just launched new direct flights from Manchester) both offering mulled wine for £3.85.
Meanwhile, Vienna’s Christmas World rounds off the European entries in ninth place, with prices starting at £4.28.
For those planning a festive adventure further afield, Tokyo’s Christmas Market also makes the top five, with mulled wine costing £3.22.
However, not every destination offers such a bargain. Across the Atlantic, New York City’s Winter Village takes the title of the most expensive market in the study, with mulled wine costing a rather less festive £11.74. Chicago’s Christkindlmarket isn’t far behind, charging £8.80.
Manchester Christmas Markets start on Friday 6 November – we’ll see how our prices stack up then.
Sir Ian McKellen pays emotional tribute to long-time friend and fellow northern actor Sir Patrick Stewart
Emily Sergeant
Sir Ian McKellen has paid an emotional tribute to his long-time friend and fellow northern actor, Sir Patrick Stewart, following his death.
Sir Patrick Stewart – who was born and bred in Mirfield, West Yorkshire, and is best-known for his theatre work alongside an illustrious 60-year screen career, taking on prominent roles in franchises such as Star Trek and X-Men – sadly passed away at the age of 86, with his death being announced publicly yesterday evening (29 October).
And now, his long-time friend and fellow northern actor, Sir Ian McKellen, has paid tribute.
Sir Patrick and Sir Ian shared the stage together countless times over their decades-long careers, but also famously starred alongside each other in the X-Men franchise, and subsequent Marvel movies, as Charles Xavier/Professor X and Magneto.
The tribute, shared across Sir Ian’s social media platforms, reads: “Before everything else, Patrick was defined by being born and bred in Yorkshire, the proud county in the north of England which he loved to the end. You could hear it in his accented voice and in the stern honesty with which he told you what he thought and felt. Yorkshiremen have no truck with half-truths or avoidance of big issues. He wore his heart on his sleeve, which made him a man to rely on, to admire and in my case, love.
“We first met as ambitious young actors with the Royal Shakespeare Company half a century ago but we weren’t in the same productions.
“My first strong memory was a few years later, meeting him in the street in central London when he told me about an offer to take over a leading part in ‘Star Trek’. “But Patrick think of your stage career in the UK. Do you really want to risk getting lost in Hollywood for years and years?”
“Well, he took the risk and thank goodness for us all that he did, for not just his devoted Trekkies, but film and theatre audiences who marvelled at his using international celebrity to star in a string of cinema successes (‘X-Men’ of course) and in great classical plays by Shakespeare, Ibsen, Arthur Miller, Peter Shaffer, Pinter and Beckett at Stratford-upon-Avon, in London’s West End and on Broadway.
“America was his adopted home, where he met his adored Sunny who has cared for him through sickness and health, through thick and thin.
“But he never forsook his origins: and the proudest achievement of the most respected and beloved actor of his generation on either side of the Atlantic, was his appointment as Chancellor of Huddersfield University in Yorkshire.”
Emily Sergeant -
19th April 2021 
