What do you do when a once-great dating franchise like The Bachelor starts to wobble?
You turbo-charge the format with some frisky seniors and aggressively target the demographic that still likes to watch free-to-air TV.
The result? The Golden Bachelor.
The over-50s format twist has already been wildly successful in the U.S. and Channel Nine is hoping for similar results when our local version screens later this year.
However, our sources tell us there has been some turmoil on set and things may not be shaping up exactly as producers and TV executives may have hoped.
Word is five female contestants were just kicked off the show’s set in Sydney’s east. Their exits were described to us as ‘sudden’ and ‘brutal’.
We’ve heard rumours five women were just kicked off the set of The Golden Bachelor, starring Barry ‘Bear’ Myrden (pictured). Their exits were described to us as ‘sudden’ and ‘brutal’
Apparently the women weren’t optimistic enough about the show and its leading man so producers decided to give them the flick. (Pictured: The Golden Bachelor host Sam Armytage)
The unprecedented decision to evict them from the Golden Bachelor Mansion was due to their perceived attitude problem. Apparently they weren’t optimistic enough about the show and its leading man so producers decided to give them the flick.
‘Five women were sent packing in one go and not all of them were heartbroken to leave,’ says a well-placed industry source.
The cull has cast a shadow over what was meant to be a heartwarming, upbeat journey for the show’s leading man, widowed father-of-three and infrastructure engineer Barry ‘Bear’ Myrden, leading some to question the future of the series.
The decision to axe the women apparently came from ‘up high’ after the network heard rumours some of the contestants ‘had no connection with Barry’.
‘Everyone knows how these shows work. Realistically, you have a few girls who really like the Bachelor and will fight for him. The rest are just there for a good time,’ adds our insider.
‘But the problem is that the women who weren’t that into Bear were just being super negative about the whole thing. And negativity is contagious.
‘So they were let go. I have no idea if there will be any formal process to it, whether they’ll at least have a rose ceremony, or if they’ll just disappear one episode.
‘But I’m told it was “absolutely the right decision”.’
The cull has cast a shadow over what was meant to be a heartwarming, upbeat journey for the show’s leading man. (Pictured: Myrden with a female contestant during filming of a single date on March 14; it is not suggested the woman pictured was among the contestants sent home)
The decision to axe the women apparently came from ‘up high’ after the network heard rumours some of the contestants ‘had no connection with Barry’
Our source also claims backstabbing and game-playing is rife behind the scenes.
‘There’s some serious nastiness going on,’ they tell us. ‘It’s less about falling in love now… more about who can just win.’
One contestant even made the bold claim that several women were only on the show to further their careers.
‘It’s all about the glory. They just want to be the last one standing,’ adds our source.
The mass cull has sparked rumours The Golden Bachelor will end up running for a condensed 10-episode season, a far cry from the 40-episode marathon that is MAFS.
Meanwhile, Nine breakfast TV stars Richard Wilkins and David Campbell have been spotted on the set, as producers hope celebrity guests will heighten viewer interest.
This is, of course, not the first time we’ve heard rumours of disquiet on set.
Soon after production began, wild speculation spread through the industry that the original choice for leading man had died unexpectedly.
We made enquiries to Nine and a spokesperson confirmed us that while the Bachelor had been recast at the eleventh hour, the series’ first pick was alive and well.
A week later, we heard the production schedule had been delayed because there was nowhere for the scores of producers and camera and sound operators to park at the eastern suburbs mansion they’d hired for the show’s set.
There were grumbles of losing precious filming hours each day as the crew were ferried in and out of the rambling manor and to a nearby car park by bus.
The delay had some frustrated crew members complaining they were missing out on ‘golden light’ each day and suggesting whoever booked the mansion – and its inadequate parking lot – should get a ‘golden handshake’.
Filming of The Golden Bachelor began in March, with much of the action taking place at the heritage-listed waterfront ‘Tresco’ estate in Elizabeth Bay (interior seen here)
Filming of The Golden Bachelor began in March, with much of the action taking place at the heritage-listed waterfront ‘Tresco’ estate in Elizabeth Bay.
With the full cast yet to be revealed, paparazzi photos ID’d some contestants including radio star Bianca Dye and Laura Junner, the mother of former Bachelor star Abbie Chatfield.
Unlike The Bachelor and The Bachelorette, which feature young cast members, The Golden Bachelor is targeted at a more mature audience.
‘Bear is not your usual reality TV type,’ an insider previously told Daily Mail Australia.
‘He’s charming, intelligent and has really lived a full life. He’s been through love, loss and he’s ready to open his heart again.’
With decades of experience in his field, he has held senior roles at major companies like Macquarie Bank and the NSW Port Authority.
But while his career has flourished, sources close to Daily Mail Australia reveal that his personal journey has been marked by tragedy, as he lost his wife to a rare brain cancer in 2011.
