An interview with the producer of Only In Bristol
Posted on: 24 May 2017We chat to D-Jukes, rapper and producer of the controversial new programme Only In Bristol, about the forthcoming release of the city’s own reality TV show.
D-Jukes, an enterprising rapper born in New York, made the hop across the Pond a couple of years back and settled in Bristol – and though these cities sit on antipodal sides of the Atlantic, he finds distinct parallels between his birth and adoptive homes: “If Bristol was a bit warmer it would be just like New York! The only thing I don’t like about this city is the weather.”
Having traded the Jersey Shore for the Severn Estuary, D-Jukes has already begun to make his mark on the South West, - concreted earlier in the year when he was announced as the executive producer of the forthcoming reality show Only In Bristol.
It seems the South West has made its mark on him too: “I love Bristol; I love the culture, the people, everything,” he said. “Everyone here is genuine and they have fun. Only In Bristol is basically here to give an outlet to the people and talent of Bristol. Whilst we were looking at the young generation coming up in the city, we also looked at older people too, and wanted to give them a voice in a teen’s world.”
Early trailers and promos for the show have shown the show to be from the same mould as Geordie Shore and The Valleys – and as such have drawn criticism from some corners for misrepresenting Bristolians as shallow and shameless.
Its producer, however, still sees the programme as completely unique: “The title alone says it: Only In Bristol! It’s different from any other place in Europe. It’s Bristol. There’s different characters, different accents, that sort of thing. Everything’s different, everything’s unique – it’s only in Bristol.”
According to its producer, Only In Bristol will also present subtle differences to this well-trodden television formula, incorporating a Big Brother-style ‘vote off’ system, though D-Juke’s is probably best placed to outline the show’s premise himself: “The people are living in a £2.1million house together, they go out together, they go through their normal routines together,” he explains. “They also try to pursue their dreams and we try to put them in the right places with the talent that they’ve got. But they’ve also got tasks they gotta do, and some of them that don’t hit the par will be nominated to leave the house to give the opportunity for someone else to come into the house and show off their talent.”
This will all be carried off by a cast of ten locals, six of whom have been revealed already. “The characters are really exciting,” Jukes grins. “There are witty characters, dramatic characters, funny characters, energetic characters, as well as some who are more quiet – so there are all sorts of people in the house. Some characters are annoying, so there is a lot of drama in the house.”
Set to thrive on the kind of manufactured melo-‘drama’ which litters similar shows, the ten incumbents have been carefully selected to provide as much of this as possible, as much as the format in which they will exist: “There are arguments, fights, disagreements; there is always going to be drama when someone could lose their space. The first nomination dominates the first episode, so they’re all wondering who is going to leave, and who nominated who – which, as you would expect, causes plenty of drama.”
As well as the cast of extroverted wannabees -which so far includes a pornographic actor, a boxer, a fitness instructor and a model – D-Jukes has promised celebrity interest, and confirmed that Steve-O from Jackass is set to play a prominent role in the first series.
With star-draws as monumentally huge as this in place, there is likely to be a media feeding frenzy amid broadcast companies itching to bring this to the nation’s screens – though D-Jukes confesses the show is still being edited.
As such the format and timescale in which Only In Bristol is to be seen remains, very much, to be seen.
One thing, however, is certain: it is going to be divisive.
Article by:
An ardent Geordie minus the accent, Sam seemingly strove to get as far away from the Toon as possible, as soon as university beckoned. Three undergraduate years at UoB were more than ample time for Bristol (as it inevitably does) to get under his skin, and so here he remains: reporting, as Assistant Editor, on the cultural happenings which so infatuated him with the city. Catch him at sam@365bristol.com.
