Beauty and the Geek (UK TV series)
Encyclopedia
Beauty and the Geek is a reality television show, first aired in the United Kingdom
on E4 on February 7, 2006, following the success of the format in the United States
, and was advertised similarly as "the Ultimate Social Experiment". The first series ended on 14 March, and was repeated on Channel 4
beginning on 31 March. There is no host per se, although voiceovers are provided by David Mitchell
of Peep Show
fame and the physical actions normally requiring a host are performed by a silent "butler" known as "Gates" (actor Alex Purves).
such as rocket science
or anatomy
from the men, while the men try to learn social skills from the women. Each pair must share a room (for some this meant sleeping in the same bed) in a large Scottish castle (Blairquhan Castle
in Ayrshire
) that provides the setting of the show.
The show begins with seven "beauties" and seven "geeks". The men and women take turns choosing partners by introducing themselves in gender-divided rooms. Once paired off, the teams work together to become proficient in unfamiliar areas of study. Their skills are tested in a series of competitions, usually one for the men and one for the women. The winners of each competition get to choose one team each to go to an elimination round, or both if each partner wins their respective round. In the elimination room, the women then the men answer three questions each about their area of study. The team with the most points (or the winner of the tiebreaker in the event of a tie) remains in the castle. The other team leaves immediately.
The last team remaining wins £100,000, split evenly.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
on E4 on February 7, 2006, following the success of the format in the United States
Beauty and the Geek
Beauty and the Geek is a reality television series on The CW. It has been advertised as "The Ultimate Social Experiment" and is produced by Ashton Kutcher, Jason Goldberg and Nick Santora....
, and was advertised similarly as "the Ultimate Social Experiment". The first series ended on 14 March, and was repeated on Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
beginning on 31 March. There is no host per se, although voiceovers are provided by David Mitchell
David Mitchell (actor)
David James Stuart Mitchell is a British actor, comedian and writer. He is half of the comedy duo Mitchell and Webb, alongside Robert Webb, whom he met at Cambridge University. There they were both part of the Cambridge Footlights, of which Mitchell became President. Together the duo star in the...
of Peep Show
Peep Show (TV series)
Peep Show is a British sitcom starring David Mitchell and Robert Webb. The television programme is written by Jesse Armstrong and Sam Bain, with additional material by Mitchell and Webb themselves, amongst others. It has been broadcast on Channel 4 since 2003. The show's seventh series makes it...
fame and the physical actions normally requiring a host are performed by a silent "butler" known as "Gates" (actor Alex Purves).
Overview
Like its US counterpart, the show matches physically attractive, but intellectually challenged women with geeky-looking, socially inept, "genius" men, and have them try to learn from each other. The women try to learn about academiaAcademia
Academia is the community of students and scholars engaged in higher education and research.-Etymology:The word comes from the akademeia in ancient Greece. Outside the city walls of Athens, the gymnasium was made famous by Plato as a center of learning...
such as rocket science
Aerospace engineering
Aerospace engineering is the primary branch of engineering concerned with the design, construction and science of aircraft and spacecraft. It is divided into two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering...
or anatomy
Anatomy
Anatomy is a branch of biology and medicine that is the consideration of the structure of living things. It is a general term that includes human anatomy, animal anatomy , and plant anatomy...
from the men, while the men try to learn social skills from the women. Each pair must share a room (for some this meant sleeping in the same bed) in a large Scottish castle (Blairquhan Castle
Blairquhan Castle
Blairquhan is a Regency-era castle near Maybole in South Ayrshire, Scotland. It is the historic home of the Hunter-Blair Baronets and remains in the family's possession...
in Ayrshire
Ayrshire
Ayrshire is a registration county, and former administrative county in south-west Scotland, United Kingdom, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine. The town of Troon on the coast has hosted the British Open Golf Championship twice in the...
) that provides the setting of the show.
The show begins with seven "beauties" and seven "geeks". The men and women take turns choosing partners by introducing themselves in gender-divided rooms. Once paired off, the teams work together to become proficient in unfamiliar areas of study. Their skills are tested in a series of competitions, usually one for the men and one for the women. The winners of each competition get to choose one team each to go to an elimination round, or both if each partner wins their respective round. In the elimination room, the women then the men answer three questions each about their area of study. The team with the most points (or the winner of the tiebreaker in the event of a tie) remains in the castle. The other team leaves immediately.
The last team remaining wins £100,000, split evenly.
Cast
| The Beauties | The Geeks |
|---|---|
| Alex Slater "Boxing Ring Beauty" |
Will Goodhand "Young Conservative Conservative Future Conservative Future, abbreviated to CF, is the youth movement of the Conservative Party in the United Kingdom for members aged up to 30 years old.Founded in 1998, Conservative Future is the largest political organisation on British campuses... " |
| Elissa Friday "Model/Aspiring Actress" |
Ben Jewell "Wildlife Fundraiser" |
| Carrie Watson "Booty Dancer" |
Philip Scott "Computer Scientist Computer science Computer science or computing science is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and of practical techniques for their implementation and application in computer systems... " |
| Hayley Dixon "Podium Dancer" |
David Booth "Evolutionary Biologist" |
| Natalie Pike Natalie Pike Natalie Pike is a British model, raised in Berwick-on-Tweed and Stockport in England, who won the Miss British Isles Competition and the FHM High Street Honeys competition in 2004.- Education :... "High Street Honey FHM FHM, originally published as For Him Magazine, is an international monthly men's lifestyle magazine.- History :The magazine began publication in 1985 in the United Kingdom under the name For Him and changed its title to FHM in 1994 when Emap Consumer Media bought the magazine, although the full For... " |
Jamie Sawyer "Mathmo" |
| Sam Wyness "Essex Girl Essex girl An Essex girl is a pejorative stereotype in the United Kingdom of a female who is said to be promiscuous and unintelligent, characteristics jocularly attributed to women from Essex. It is applied widely throughout the country and has gained popularity over time, dating from the 1980s and 1990s... " |
Edmund Bolton "Former Child Prodigy Child prodigy A child prodigy is someone who, at an early age, masters one or more skills far beyond his or her level of maturity. One criterion for classifying prodigies is: a prodigy is a child, typically younger than 18 years old, who is performing at the level of a highly trained adult in a very demanding... " |
| Teri Marquez "Page Three Girl Page Three girl Page Three is a tabloid newspaper feature consisting of a topless photograph of a female glamour model, usually printed on the paper's third page... " |
John Gethin "Theologian Theology Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo... /Philosopher" |
Challenges
| Week | Beauty (Winner) | Geek (Winner) | Sent Home |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Spelling Bee (Natalie) | Dancing Competition (Ben) | Carrie & Philip |
| 2 | Human Body (Natalie) | Massage (Will) | Hayley & David |
| 3 | Rocket Science (Elissa) | Women's Fashion (John) | Natalie & Jamie |
| 4 | |
Elissa & Ben | |
| 5 | |
Alex & Will | |
| 6 | |
Sam & Edmund | |
| Winners | |
||
External links
- Beauty and the Geek Fan Site US (season 2) & UK Series 1
- Beauty and the Geek UK
- Blairquhan Castle, where the programme was filmed
Contestant websites
- Alex's Website
- Elissa's website
- Will's Website
- Hayley's Website
- Natalie's Fansite
- Jamie's Blog
- Edmund's Fansite
- We're England - World Cup 2006 anthem by Edmund, Will and Jamie