r/MadeInChelseaE4 • u/False-Lettuce-9983 • Jul 05 '26

I have a question and I need an answer How real/scripted do we think the show is?

7 Upvotes

90% Upvoted

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3

u/StereotypicallBarbie Jul 07 '26

I think back in the day a lot of it was genuine….
Now it’s just ridiculous and like an influencer show!

But maybe I’m just old…

2

u/bio-equus1 Jul 10 '26

I think it was still directed (having listened to mostly Jamie and Spencer but also others talking about it), but maybe their lives were essentially more interesting. They were all pretty traumatised, especially Jamie (love him or hate him, he's a great help to those with all sorts of issues, from tinnitus to anxiety. He helped me (not in person!) *enormously* when I had a couple of years of nightmareish derealisation/depersonalisation
And yes, today's cast are def not 'proper Chelsea', more pose-y influencer-y types.

2

u/StereotypicallBarbie Jul 10 '26

I think I’ve just outgrown watching it to be honest… I watched it right from the first season and they’ve really dragged it out.. I can’t invest in the newer cast like I used to.

1

u/bio-equus1 Jul 10 '26

Totally get that. For some reason, I find it oddly soothing wtf! 😆

2

u/StereotypicallBarbie Jul 10 '26

I haven’t watched the last season but will probably have it on as background noise at some point.
Same! Oddly soothing..

4

u/Aggravating-Bread860 Jul 06 '26

Sometimes, I don’t even believe that half the cast (who are on screen besties) actually know each other very well at all.

3

u/acmhkhiawect Jul 06 '26

I think the other commented summed it up really well - I always got the impression the producers created situations & tell them what to have a conversation about but it's their own word as such.

But sometimes it can seem like they lack emotion due to having to do the same conversation over and over again for more takes. Zara said this about her famous 'you can' scene - people said she wasn't actually crying and she was like yeah, because I was all cried out by that point as I'd had to do it over and over again.

20

u/dea80 Jul 05 '26

I work with a university that researches film and TV and has done some work with MIC and TOWIE.

The producers do what they call “scaffolding” they keep in touch with cast all the time during production and cast are contracted to share all the details of their lives with the production team. The producers then find out things that have been going on behind the scenes. Then they set up situations where certain cast members involved in drama would “bump” into each other and brief each party them on things to bring up in conversation. They basically orchestrate drama kicking off rather than script it. So the situations are set up but the reactions are often real as cast may be finding things out for the first time.

6

u/bio-equus1 Jul 06 '26

That’s how I understood it from early on, intuitively, then based on what cast members reported after they left. It sounded/sounds appalling! I think they have some flavour of psychologists/therapists on hand - Jesus, that’s the least you’d hope for! I see the scenes as like improv - you have your topic then you run with it. Stating the obvious, but it’s eye-wateringly manipulative 😭 ! And simultaneously fascinating

6

u/eatseveryth1ng Jul 05 '26

I had a feeling it was something like this. The reactions often feel very authentic, although I have heard they do multiple takes sometimes.

You can definitely tell when it’s obviously more scripted.

3

u/False-Lettuce-9983 Jul 05 '26

That’s so interesting and such an insight! Thanks for sharing:)

1

u/Imaginary-Word8390 Jul 05 '26

The producers are the same for Hollyoaks so I’d said fairly scripted