The Biggest Loser

Start date: Country of Origin: Genre: reality Director: Producer: Writer: Cast: Quirky Quote:

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The Biggest Loser is a weight-loss competition in the form of a reality TV show, where the grand prize is AUD$200,000. Originating in the United States (where prize money is US$250,000), the show sees contestants living together in a camp, disconnected from the outside world (like Big Brother), and the programme format is based on “weigh-ins” each round to determine how much weight each contestant has lost. The competitor having survived each round and having lost the most weight in the final round of the competition is deemed the winner and “biggest loser”. The show follows a series of challenges and training exercises (with competitors coached by specialist instructors) and tempts contestants into breaking their abstinence from an unhealthy lifestyle by offering an exchange of bonuses (such as the ability to contact loved ones).

The first series of Australia’s The Biggest Loser saw winner Adro Sanelli lose 37.58% of his starting weight. Twelve contestants were chosen to compete out of more than six thousand applicants, and personal trainers were the same as the US version (Bob Harper and Jillian Michaels). Series two saw the trainers replaced with Australian counterparts Michelle Bridges and Shannan Ponton, and the show’s winner, Chris, lost a massive 46.89% of his starting weight. The second series saw a fair amount of controversy with two contestants leaving for medical reasons, whilst a further competitor left out of personal choice. Also introduced in the second series was a surprise trainer, Steve Willis, an ex-SAS Commando.

In the USA, where the show began, producers are currently casting for series five. The show has also been broadcast successfully in the Netherlands (now on its fourth series) and the UK (on its second series). The show has also been broadcast in Brazil, India, and Israel. Overall there have been roughly two hundred Biggest Loser contestants internationally and starting weights have ranged from around 75 kg to 216 kg (the latter of which featured in Australia’s second series).