Join Chi Chi Izundu as she looks back on the world of The X Factor, where contestants perform in front of celebrity judges to realise their dream. It’s a world of glamour and excitement, but also of hard truths, hard words and hard work. For our hopefuls, the first step is the audition process. We go behind the scenes to look at how the process unfolds, and what staff and contestants remember about the beginning of their road to stardom. Offstage: Inside The X Factor captures the emotion,...

Sirin Kale and Pandora Sykes look at how one of TV’s most popular shows became mired in tragedy and controversy. Where did it all go wrong? And is this the end for reality TV? Featuring interviews with Megan Barton-Hanson, Dr Alex George, Jake Cornish, Rachel Finni and many more. Producer: Hannah Hufford Executive Producer: Pandora Sykes Executive Editor: James Cook Content Producer: Hannah Robins Technical Producer: Giles Aspen Archive credits: The Victoria Derbyshire Show, BBC Love...

Pandora Sykes and Sirin Kale analyse how Love Island became a finishing school for influencers and a commercial juggernaut through its association with fast fashion. Featuring interviews with Megan Barton-Hanson, Dr Alex George, and many more. Producer: Hannah Hufford Executive Producer: Pandora Sykes Executive Editor: James Cook Content Producer: Hannah Robins Technical Producer: Giles Aspen Archive credits: Love Island, ITV Studios/Lifted Entertainment/Motion Content Group Sausages, Adam...

Sirin Kale and Pandora Sykes slip into the moneyed world of the Californian 0.01% with the help of a Real Housewife and a Selling Sunset realtor, to examine property porn, toxic wealth, and why audiences want schadenfreude. Featuring interviews with Real Housewife's Taylor Armstrong, Selling Sunset's Mary Fitzgerald, plus the show creators and more. Producer: Hannah Hufford Executive Producer: Pandora Sykes Executive Editor: James Cook Content Producer: Hannah Robins Technical Producer:...

Pandora Sykes and Sirin Kale look at how these BAFTA-winning reality shows became national treasures and explore why the ingredients for a good reality show are the same, wherever they are set. Featuring interviews with Spencer Matthews, Georgia Toffolo, James Lock, plus many more. Producer: Hannah Hufford Executive Producer: Pandora Sykes Executive Editor: James Cook Content Producer: Hannah Robins Technical Producer: Giles Aspen Archive credits: The British Academy Television Awards:...

Sirin Kale and Pandora Sykes delve into the story of America’s First Family, the Kardashian-Jenners, and how they leveraged reality tv to redefine beauty ideals and create an entirely new category of uber-celebrity. Featuring interviews with Keeping Up With The Kardashian's executive producer for all 20 seasons, plus @NorisBlackBook creator, and many more. Producer: Hannah Hufford Executive Producer: Pandora Sykes Executive Editor: James Cook Content Producer: Hannah Robins Technical...

Pandora Sykes and Sirin Kale tread a nostalgic path back to their teenage years and The Hills, which birthed reality’s first wave of lifestyle influencers. Featuring interviews with Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montag, and many more. Producer: Hannah Hufford Executive Producer: Pandora Sykes Executive Editor: James Cook Content Producer: Hannah Robins Technical Producer: Giles Aspen Archive credits: The OC, Wonderland Sound and Vision Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County, Go Go Luckey...

Sirin Kale and Pandora Sykes explore how the rise in cosmetic surgery collided with reality TV, and laid the foundations for our current preoccupation with self-improvement. Featuring interviews with The Swan's show creator and contestant, and many more. Producer: Hannah Hufford Executive Producer: Pandora Sykes Executive Editor: James Cook Content Producer: Hannah Robins Technical Producer: Giles Aspen Archive credits: The Swan, Galan Entertainment You Have Been Watching, Zeppotron What...

Pandora Sykes and Sirin Kale deep-dive into some of reality TV’s most controversial shows in the early 2000s, exploring how the explosion in the genre caused ethics to fly out of the window. Featuring interviews with There's Something About Miriam's show creator and winning contestant, and many more. Producer: Hannah Hufford Executive Producer: Pandora Sykes Executive Editor: James Cook Content Producer: Hannah Robins Technical Producer: Giles Aspen Archive credits: There’s Something About...

Sirin Kale and Pandora Sykes look at how three men called Simon are responsible for the gold rush of talent shows in the early noughties and why the format no longer feels fit for purpose. Producer: Hannah Hufford Executive Producer: Pandora Sykes Executive Editor: James Cook Content Producer: Hannah Robins Technical Producer: Giles Aspen Archive credits: The X Factor, Fremantle Media Britain’s Got Talent, Talkback Thames Star Search, 2929 Productions Popstars, Warner Bros. Television Pop...

Pandora Sykes and Sirin Kale wind back to Britain's first ‘official’ reality show, to look at how it became a global phenomenon, the importance of authenticity, and how Jade Goody created a new type of celebrity - famous for simply being herself. Featuring interviews with housemates Nick Bateman aka 'Nasty Nick' and Brian Dowling, and Big Brother's Creative Director Philip Edgar-Jones, plus many more. Producer: Hannah Hufford Executive Producer: Pandora Sykes Executive Editor: James...

The dumbest genre in entertainment, or the one that tells us the most about ourselves? Since its conception, reality TV has divided its viewers. Introducing Unreal: A Critical History of Reality TV, a new 10-part audio documentary written and presented by journalists Pandora Sykes and Sirin Kale. They've been fans of reality TV since they first watched Big Brother as pre-teens and they've spent a fair amount of time defending reality tv when people are snobby about it, or dismiss its...