Channel 4 has commissioned The Honesty Box (working title), a nine-part reality dating experiment for E4, from Mettlemouse Entertainment and GroupM Motion Entertainment “which will test if honesty is the secret to finding true and everlasting love.”
The series brings a cast of singles together in “Truetopia”, “a sunny and romantic paradise where truth and honesty reign supreme”. Each single has signed up knowing they will be tested, in the hope it will lead to true love. To encourage full transparency in their new relationships there is a prize fund of £100,000 up for grabs, but only if the daters choose to be open and completely honest about their true feelings.
Every day the daters will face The Honesty Box – a new AI-enhanced software – to be asked probing questions about their feelings. If The Honesty Box detects deception, it could impact their newly formed relationship… and the prize fund.
The singles will be guided through the experiment by host Vicky Pattison. Vicky will be joined by motivational speaker and Married at First Sight Australia alumnus Lucinda Light, who will be encouraging each of the daters to discover their inner truth.
Vicky Pattison said, “I’m so excited to be working with Channel 4 to host this brilliant new dating experiment. It really will put the ‘true’ in ‘true love’. I can’t wait for the daters to settle in to Truetopia and to share every twist and turn with them along the way. I hope beautiful, honest love stories will blossom.”
Lucinda Light said, “Having undergone my own radical journey to find love, I deeply empathise with our brave cast of singles. I’m passionate about the importance of truth and authenticity in building strong relationships. My goal is to guide our divine daters in making meaningful connections by encouraging them to share openly and honestly with one another, especially as they face the Honesty Box in Truetopia.”
Channel 4’s Head of Reality and Entertainment, Steven Handley said, “We all love the drama of reality dating shows, but we can be left wondering if the couples really like each other or if they are just performing for the cameras. So, I’m thrilled to commission The Honesty Box (w/t), Mettlemouse’s innovative new take on a dating show that will test what our singles actually think of each other, and just how brutally honest we are all prepared to be to find everlasting love.”
Channel 4 Commissioning Editor, Genna Gibson, said, “Relationship experts say that honesty and trust are crucial to finding love, but could it be better to keep some of the awkward truths under wraps in those fragile early days? The Honesty Box will test just how truthful it pays to be at the start of a new relationship, and explore if total honesty makes for a longer-lasting bond.”
Mettlemouse CEO, Sarah Tyekiff said, Everyone has experienced a relationship damaged by lies and deception in the past and our cast are no different. To change this, they’re boldly taking part in our new social experiment ‘The Honesty Box’ – the most honest dating show in the world where we’ll discover if being truthful from the start is the best foundation for love. We can’t wait to see if anyone finds the true love they’re so desperately seeking.”
Head of Formats & Entertainment (UK), GroupM Motion Entertainment, Martin Oxley adds, “The sincerity of love on TV is under constant interrogation from all quarters, so we couldn’t be more thrilled to be part of The Honesty Box with Channel 4 and the extremely talented and experienced team at Mettlemouse. The fact that this show has been commissioned from the hugely creative Contestable Pot process makes us all the more excited for what’s to come.”
The Honesty Box was developed by Mettlemouse alongside Commissioning Editor Mel Bezalel. It was commissioned by Head of Reality & Entertainment Steven Handley and Commissioning Editor Genna Gibson. Executive producers for Mettlemouse are Shaun Parry Becca Walker and Ali Haddon-Cave. Martin Oxley, Head of Formats & Entertainment (UK) is the Executive Producer for GroupM Motion Entertainment.
The Honesty Box is commissioned following a competitive brief to independent production companies for Channel 4’s Contestable Pot, led by Channel Executive, Art Sejdiu, to find innovative formats to launch in peak time with support from GroupM Motion Entertainment. Following the success of this round, The Contestable Pot has now re-opened to find more audacious, audience-driving, genre-bending channel-defining formats. Producers can find more info here: https://www.channel4.com/4producers/briefs/contestable-pot
Jon Creamer
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