Josh Must Win’s Vicky Pattison shares emotional reason she signed up to new ‘Underdog’ reality show (Virgin Radio UK)

Josh Must Win is the upcoming reality series with a major twist, and for one of its stars, it allowed them to be the reality telly producer they always wanted to be.

Radio star Nick Grimshaw, reality TV stalwart Vicky Pattison, The Only Way is Essex’s Pete Wicks and Love Island winner Amber Gill are at the helm of E4’s spin on the traditional format, with the panellists having to ensure their secret underdog, Josh, wins a popularity contest called The Favourite.

The celebs, all hidden away in a secret room, have the ability to control what the contestants do in a bid to make sure Josh is voted The Favourite. Every time he’s found to be the ‘Least Favourite’ the prize pot loses £10,000, but if he lands at the top of the Favourite list, that £10k gets added back on.

I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here! winner Vicky has experienced her fair share of reality TV shows, having starred in Geordie Shore, Ex on the Beach and Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins, so it’s no wonder she jumped at the chance to be in control of another social experiment.

Speaking to virginradio.co.uk and other press ahead of the release on Monday 25th March, Vicky admitted she felt “empowered” taking on a role that was more behind-the-scenes.

She explained: “I have been out of control of my own life for the most part. I started on reality TV when I was 21. For those first five years, I just felt completely at the mercy of whatever any producer decided.

“As I’ve grown, I’ve done sort of different reality TV, arguably nicer reality TV. But to be on the other side of it was really empowering. It also gave us the chance to be the type of producers that I kind of wish I’d potentially encountered when I was younger.”

Vicky did confess to feeling slightly “drunk on power” with her fellow celebs, but they also exercised “compassion and empathy” for everyone on The Favourite, not just Josh.

“I know what it’s like to desperately want to make a good impression to try and be true to yourself, but also be what the producer wants,” she continued. “We were mindful of that. So yes, there were a lot of conflicting feelings going on, but desperately just getting Josh to win.

“But we also had one key objective, and that was to make sure everyone had a really nice time, and got as much money as they possibly could. I felt a whole host of things, but it was just feel good vibes the majority of the time.”

The Underdog: Josh Must Win starts Monday 25th March at 9pm on E4. Stream on Channel 4.

(Originally posted on Virgin Radio UK, Tue 19th March 2024, 10.04 GMT)