"It is, explains Ross, a show about whether a divided Britain [can] settle its differences, by handcuffing two strangers from different walks of life together for 24 hours a day (including in the shower ooh-er!) and seeing who can last the longest for a shot at a 100,000 prize. Really, though, it's a show that manipulates those differences for views a cheap throwback to Wife Swap at best and The Jeremy Kyle Show at worst."
"Each pair has clearly been selected for maximum mutual discomfort. Jo is the owner of a plus-size fashion brand and Reuben thinks fat people are lazy; Tilly spends her spare time helping homeless people while millionaire Anthony reckons he's an expert 'cos he's been camping before; George is a former prison officer who believes learning is the best way to empower himself while Sir Ben is an aristocrat who despite having an expensive education still chooses to own a painting by Adolf Hitler."
"Over the four episodes released for review, Ross isn't really given much to do he is a disembodied voice, introducing Handcuffed's victims with trite labels like a cleaner who can't stop swearing (Tilly) and an alpha male (Reuben). Not that they aren't already judging each other one handcuffee looks at their mate and announces: I just knew he was a vegan."
Jonathan Ross hosts Channel 4's new social experiment Handcuffed, which pairs strangers from contrasting backgrounds and handcuffs them together for 24 hours daily to compete for a £100,000 prize. The show frames itself as exploring whether divided Britain can bridge differences, but primarily manufactures drama through deliberately mismatched participants selected for maximum mutual discomfort. Examples include a plus-size fashion brand owner paired with someone who believes overweight people are lazy, and a homeless advocate paired with a wealthy millionaire. Ross serves as a disembodied narrator providing reductive character labels. The format deliberately creates awkward situations, including bathroom scenarios, while participants immediately judge each other based on superficial characteristics, revealing the show's focus on entertainment through conflict rather than genuine reconciliation.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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