Several BBC viewers have expressed immediate disappointment with Davina McCall’s latest dating programme, Stranded on Honeymoon Island, when it premiered on Wednesday evening.
The show faced instant criticism for its apparent lack of innovation, with audiences quickly identifying similarities to established dating formats, particularly Married At First Sight, Love Island, and Survivor.
The programme’s premise involves singles participating in brief speed-dating sessions before being paired by experts for mock wedding ceremonies.
The format sees couples transported to remote Philippine beaches where they must survive with minimal amenities on their so-called ‘Honeymoon’.
The 12 participants were revealed in the first episode as Abby, David, Hannah, Helen, Ini, Jordan, Mae, Millie, Moray, Oliver, Sam, and Taniae.
Overseeing the proceedings was Ms McCall, who, over the course of the series, will be on hand to witness whether love can thrive between the couples while isolated from the luxuries of modern-day life.
However, judging by the reception the premiere received, many won’t be tuning in to see how the couples get on, with some branding the series “c**p”, “embarrassing”, and a waste of “licence fee money”.
“More #woke b******s #honeymoonisland. Is this really what we are paying our television licence for?” one X user complained, while a second echoed: “Just F*** OFF!!!! Enough of these c**p reality programmes. They are BBC3 or ITV2 standard TV. #StrandedOnHoneymoonIsland.”
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“Not remotely convinced by this programme. It’s desperation to be MAFS is a bit embarrassing. #StrandedOnHoneymoonIsland,” a third weighed in before a fourth also criticised: “It speaks volumes for the plight of the BBC that it’s making a show like #StrandedOnHoneymoonIsland.”
A fifth critic similarly blasted: “If the #BBC think this sort of s**t is worthy of autumn evening TV schedules, there’s absolutely no hope #StrandedOnHoneymoonIsland.”
And another sarcastically hit out: “If we offered to pay a bit more for the TV licence, I wonder if they’d agree to stop making it. #StrandedOnHoneymoonIsland.”
However, some did back the show, with one fan lauding the premiere: “I. Am. Sold. Inject the entire series right now #StrandedOnHoneymoonIsland.”
And others reserved their praise for Ms McCall in the hosting role, with one typing: “@ThisisDavina you’re one phenomenal host, Davina #StrandedOnHoneymoonIsland.” (sic)
Despite the seemingly overwhelming negative reception, the BBC has already commissioned a second series of the programme.
And it’s clearly a project Ms McCall feels passionate about. Speaking about the decision to take on the hosting role, she said ahead of the premiere: “I was quite busy generally in life, and I was at a stage where I thought I don’t think I can do any more TV shows.
“I had a couple of nice shows, I’ve got ITV’s Long Lost Family and The Masked Singer, I didn’t need anything else, but this one came to me, and I read the ideas of every show that someone sends to me.
“I wouldn’t say no to something without reading it myself and I read this, and I thought, oh no, this is actually really good, and I thought how is this going to be different from other shows, and the thing I love about Stranded is the learning.
“Everybody, the viewer and the people taking part, can really learn something from this show about themselves, about each other, about the human condition, and even if they don’t end up with somebody, everybody learns something they can take into their next relationship, and I love that about it.”
She also paid tribute to the 12 participants. “The cast are amazing. It’s interesting to see how much they changed from the speed dating in the first week and what they go through,” she said.
“They are resilient, strong, and emotional. They show their true colours, they are hones,t and it’s brilliant!”
