Wales takes a reality check

There are many stereotypes concerning the Welsh, often involving intimate relations with sheep. People in every area of the country have their own idiosyncrasies, but is it time we stopped this obsession with particular regions and their feral inhabitants? We’ve had the TOWIE brand of tangoed stars that refuse to take their own advice and “shaataaap”. Geordie Shore features many a tanned, waxed person boasting a selection of words that, I assure you, cannot be found in the dictionary. And now it’s the turn of the Welsh in The Valleys.
The Valleys is a new MTV ‘reality’ show revolving around the lives of nine people who hail from the Welsh Valleys. These young, upstanding members of the community are keen to hit the big time. Put into a house in Cardiff they must live and work together to achieve their dreams. There’s just one problem: they are completely insane.
Let’s start with the boys. Aron is a three times world champion kickboxer with pecs big enough to make Katie Price jealous. Leeroy is a womanising wannabe rapper. Chidgey (Darren to his mother) is a bricklayer trying to break into the modelling business. Having dubbed himself “the best thing to ever come out of Wales,” he dreams of taking his radioactive tan and chiselled physique right to the top. Finally, Liam dreams of becoming a world-class DJ and appears, so far, to be the sanest of the lot.
But what kind of reality show would it be without a selection of intelligent, demure girls? First up is Nicole, who dreams of being a stylist. She keeps the group entertained by producing fart noises from her “foof” (no translation needed…). Lateysha and Jenna plan on becoming models to secure their future of fame and riches. Jenna has brains, but Lateysha has an as yet unrivalled capacity for self-worship. Similarly confident in her own skin is outgoing housemate, Carley. Carley chose to demonstrate this confidence by asking, within three minutes of entering the house, “Do you wanna see my tits?” She then whipped them out for the entire nation to see. Completing this motley crew is Darren’s conniving ex, Natalee.
Credit where credit is due, this isn’t just another MTV show revolving around people drinking until they vomit. These people may perform excruciating, sexually explicit moves on the dance floor, but they are also trying to make something of themselves. This an endearing addition to a formula that is tired of the whirl of thongs, tongues and overly inflated egos that too often defines the genre. The Valleys has a solid objective: people striving for something greater.
However, reality shows would be nothing without some kind of excessive drama revolving around sex and alcohol, and The Valleys is no different. After all, if they worked hard constantly that wouldn’t make good TV. You may as well film floor three of the library for a day.
There have been complaints that the show “misrepresents Wales”. A protest group called The Valleys Are Here suggest that 5% of the profits from the show go towards a local charity that helps support young people in the area. However, Twitter reactions suggest that many are more interested in the entertaining spectacle than the inaccurate representations allegedly being made.
As for me, I’ll continue watching The Valleys because, for all its faults, it’s damn good entertainment when you’re stressing about the woes of being a third year. At the end of the day, it’s more fun watching mindless TV than doing that course reading that’s slowly piling up… even though we realise that in actual reality not everyone from the Welsh Valleys is promiscuous, self-obsessed or constantly intoxicated.