World’s most offensive dating show that ended in lawsuits, violence and death threats

There’s Something About Miriam aired in 2004 and the insensitive reality dating show was nothing short of a complete disaster after the so-called ‘twist’ was uncovered

Of all the reality TV dating shows out there, one will forever be known as the most controversial and irredeemably exploitative. On the surface There’s Something About Miriam – which ran on Sky One in 2004 – had the same format as other popular programmes. Six handsome British men were moved into an Ibizan villa to compete for the affections of a drop dead gorgeous woman. They had to do various tasks and take Mexican-born model Miriam Rivera, then 21, on dates. Week by week, she voted one man off after another until she whittled it down to a final suitor she could go on a luxury holiday with.

However, this programme had what they dubbed a “twist”. Unbeknown to the contestants, Miriam was in fact a trans woman. The model, who did not seek to hide her identity in life, was told to keep this a secret for the premise of the show. She is seen in a glamorous montage in the first episode of the ill-fated series, explaining, “I try to be honest in everything I say but there is a secret that the guys don’t know. My big secret that I have is that I am not a real woman. I wasn’t born as a girl, I was born as a man. I am a transexual. I see myself as a girl because I have been living half my life as I am right now.” The aim, of course, was to “other” Miriam and in case anything wasn’t clear they chose to humiliate her by cutting to a doctor, who confirmed he had done a medical examination on Miriam and that she had a male appendix.

As for the men, they had applied for a show which was initially snidely labelled “Find Me A Man,” and as one contestant Aron Lane explains on the six-part Harsh Reality podcast – which investigates the show – he was pitched, “three weeks in the sun, with a chance of winning £10,00 and dating a hot model.” Unsurprisingly, There’s Something About Miriam was a total disaster. In the season finale the Mexican model chooses 23-year-old lifeguard Tom Rooke over martial arts expert Scott Gibson, because the pair had built up a strong connection. Convinced he was “going to love me for who I am,” there are real emotions on the line.

However, host Tim Vincent, of Blue Peter fame, then gets the pair to stand back and tells the cast there is a “twist.” This is when Miriam is clearly told to say, “Tom, I am not a woman. I was born as a man.” The contestants then fall about laughing, and visibly upset she tells them to “shut up.” The star scene of the series ends with awkwardness hanging in the air, after Tom agrees to go on a boat with Miriam and collect his prize money, but then u-turns his decision, saying, “I don’t want to spend a week on a boat with someone who deceived me.” He never saw her again after things went sour between the production and cast.