Naked Attraction former contestant shares unorthodox interview process

Stage performers are often told to “picture the audience naked” to abate those first night jitters.

Yet, such tactics offer little consolation to would-be participants of one of TV’s most controversial shows.

‘Naked Attraction’ has prompted horror, fascination and delight in equal measure since it first hit screens back in 2016.

And despite rumours that Channel 4had pulled the plug on the flesh-fest, the broadcaster confirmed in June last year that it would be airing a brand new series in 2024.

Presumably, this means that auditions are being held, and hopefuls will want to prep as best they can.

Fortunately, a former contestant, called Gavin, has shared some insight into the vetting process, proving that, much like the show itself, it’s not for the faint-hearted.

The bar manager from Edinburgh (who asked for his surname to remain anonymous), was 24 went he vyed for a place on the nude dating contest.

In an interview published by the Expressback in 2017, he explained that he applied to the programme after being encouraged to do so by friends.

Naked Attraction has been ruffling feathers for almost 8 years(Channel 4)

“[Channel 4] put up an advert on Facebook and it said there was a lack of interest from Scottish people,” Gavin told the news site.

“A few friends tagged me in it and said this would be perfect for you because half of Edinburgh has seen me naked at some point – I have a bit of a tendency to take my kit off – so I took them up on their offer.

“Then I applied and got invited for an audition.”

The Scot said he went down to Newcastle for his first interview, where he “sat down and chatted with a camerawoman and a male interviewee.”

“Then they said ‘can you take your clothes off now and pitch yourself to us?’ he recalled.

He said his starkers self-promo sesh lasted around 45 minutes, but insisted it “wasn’t so awkward” because his hosts “made [him] feel at ease”.

Luckily, he knocked their socks off (but no additional items of clothing, we imagine), and he secured himself a spot on the show.

Still, it wasn’t smooth sailing from there.

Gavin revealed that the whole thing was a lengthy and pretty gruelling process, but said it was all a lot of fun nonetheless.

Gavin (left) encouraged anyone interested in appearing on the show, hosted by Anna Richardson (right), to apply(Channel 4)

“You’ve got about two hours of standing in a box until it all starts. It ended up being from seven in the morning to three in the afternoon to film half an hour of television,” he explained.

“[The cameramen] come round and take loads of pictures for the mash-ups. It was quite a lengthy process, but enjoyable.”

However, after two rounds in the competition, Gavin was given the boot by his potential love match – a woman called Adele.

“It’s just the way it goes. I didn’t fit the profile that she was looking for,” he conceded.

“She wanted a big guy, someone with tattoos and she didn’t like bodily hair, and I was the slimmest guy on the show and I’m pretty hairy, so I didn’t stand much of a chance.”

Gavin said the whole experience was far from crushing, indeed, for some of his fellow contestants, it provided an ego boost.

“It didn’t really effect me, but I think a lot of the other contestants were saying at the end about how they felt it really helped their confidence,” he noted.

“There was a few people who did it last year and they came back to do it this year because it boosted their confidence so much.

“I think there was one guy who felt his confidence had been knocked, but that was it.”

In the end, he said anyone interested in taking part shouldn’t think twice about what others think.

He concluded: “I’d say to anyone it’s a good experience and if you don’t try it, you can’t knock it.”

Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter

Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings