We all know that reality television shows need to be watched with a healthy dose of scepticism, but what about when the filming has stopped and the series has aired? Does the hand of the producer still hover over the contestants' every move?
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The show might be over for the cast of Network Ten's The Bachelor Australia, but they're definitely not free of its makers, Shine Australia.
Melbourne-based bachelorette Laurina Fleure said the contract she signed extended six months after the show aired and had strict conditions including: not using social media, not giving interviews without permission and not speaking poorly about other contestants, the production company or the show itself.
"It's a very restrictive contract, but they are not enforcing it," said the model and online retailer.
Another bachelorette, Alana Wilkie, who posted photographs of her and a beau online before the episode where she was kicked off the show aired, seems to have learnt her lesson.
"Thanks for you email, however all correspondence needs to go through Shine Australia," she replied to Fairfax Media's request for an interview.
But The Bachelor Australia is far from alone in controlling contestants' behaviour for months after the show has disappeared from the small screen.
The competitors on the 2013 series of the cooking contest show MasterChef had to agree to hand over 15 per cent of their media income for three years. They were also banned from Facebook and Twitter, had to seek permission for interviews and forfeited control over publishing deals.
Those conditions are similar to those agreed to by the 2013 contestants on the television talent show The X Factor. Contestants couldn't perform on TV or radio shows without permission, they agreed to have their voices dubbed, to work for free and to hand over recording rights to their songs.
"To be honest I didn't even really read it properly. I just signed my life away and thought it would be worth it for the opportunity," Fleure said.
The Block co-creator Julian Cress said it was common for producers to keep in contact with contestants after a show had finished, but he did not think the Blake Garvey-Sam Frost-Louise Pillidge Bachelor love saga had been manufactured. (You can catch up on the latest here).
"I think that what's happened is there is a significant amount of time between the production and when the show went on air. They know what's coming, so they obviously then had a lot of time to plan how to make the most of that story, because they knew it was going to come out," Mr Cress said.
"I also think there would have been a lot of soul-searching amongst the producers because just having people talking about your show isn't necessarily a good thing. These things can have a negative impact as much as a positive.
"The soul-searching would have been if we present a wonderful fairytale ending where people are in love and they're going to live happily ever after and then ultimately they're not going to remain together, that can affect an audience's desire to tune into the next series."
Matchbox Pictures executive producer Kylie Washington, who has worked on Amazing Race Australia, Big Brother and The Real Housewives of Melbourne, said the relationship between producer and contestant became more important after filming was completed.
During the filming and airing of The Real Housewives of Melbourne, stars were allowed to use social media but were warned not to reveal story lines.
"When you're shooting sometimes it's the easiest part, it's actually when you're on air that it becomes hard. You're a counsellor, a voice of reason, explaining the process and why decisions were made to them," Ms Washington said.
"It's a relationship that you start and it's built on trust and it's built on the idea that everyone holds hands and jumps down off the top of the cliff together."
A Shine Australia spokeswoman emphatically denied that the goings-on between the contestants since the finale aired earlier this month had anything to do with producers.
"No, this was absolutely not set up by the producers. Quite the opposite," the spokeswoman said.
"We are in very regular contact with contestants on all our shows after production is completed. We don't make decisions for them but we try to advise and help them as best we can."
Bachelorette Fleure agrees that the drama off the screen is all real.
"I would say it has happened outside of it all," she said. "I don't know how Blake got Louise and Lisa's numbers, though."
SMH
