10 Reality TV Contestants the Entire Nation HATED

10 Reality TV Contestants the Entire Nation Hated

Welcome to WatchMojoUK, and today we’re looking at the most hated reality TV participants in Britain. 

We also WILL be including celebrity contestants, as long as they were hated because of how they behaved on reality TV.

Peter Marsh

“Come Dine with Me” (2005-)

Peter and Jane were both widely disliked during this notorious East Oxfordshire edition of “Come Dine with Me”, but only one of them has lived in infamy ever since. Though there are always arguments at the dinner table – that’s what makes it worth watching in the first place – it’s rare that the contestants lose their manners in the last five minutes. But Marsh found himself dead last after getting upset with Jane during the main course and ruining the atmosphere. He was horrified when he opened the scroll to read. His rant remains a legendary television moment, though he maintains to this day that he was misrepresented by the show’s editing.

Molly-Mae Hague

“Love Island” (2015-)

She was popular enough during the fifth series of “Love Island”, coming second along with then-partner Tommy Fury. But she became embroiled in a handful of scandals shortly after her departure. First was a bust-up with the Advertising Standards Authority after a dodgy prize pool, but she gained more public notoriety for some comments made on Steven Bartlett’s podcast. She said that poverty wasn’t an obstacle for success and that everybody has the same 24 hours in a day, and that SHE became rich through graft and hard work – NOT by being a beauty queen who got a stint on “Love Island”. People were so angry that they changed her name to “Molly-Mae Thatcher” on Wikipedia.

Gillian McKeith

“I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!” (2002-)

She wasn’t exactly popular before going on “I’m a Celeb”, known most widely in the UK for crackpot dietary advice and being paid to look at people’s poo. But her reputation sunk to new lows when she proved herself to be one of the worst “I’m a Celeb” contestants ever. It was her abysmal performance that led to the public repeatedly voting her to do the trials, even though the other contestants would definitely have preferred someone who could win some stars so that they could, you know, eat. This culminated in McKeith faking a fainting fit live on air to get out of doing another one, which was a very poor show indeed.

Seann Walsh

“Strictly Come Dancing” (2004-)

He was a popular comedian on the up before his “Strictly” appearance in 2018, but this led to one of the biggest scandals in UK television history. For weeks, the front pages were splashed with pictures of Walsh and his dance partner Katya Jones kissing; at the time, Walsh had a girlfriend, and Jones was married to another “Strictly” dancer. They apologised and the affair clearly went no further, but it didn’t matter. Both careers, but particularly Walsh’s, were decimated, and he was the UK’s biggest villain. He’s since said that he’s still haunted by what happened and the effect it had, and we can’t blame him; in hindsight, we really don’t think a kiss was worth all THIS.

Jedward

“The X Factor” (2004-18)

Do you love or hate these boys from Dublin? The divisive twins with their unique hairstyles shot to fame on “The X Factor” in 2008, and though they didn’t win, they did begin a recording career under the stewardship of Louis Walsh. They were massive, fronting national tours and producing international hits after appearing on “Eurovision”. But you just couldn’t escape the haters at the height of their fame, with many people – Simon Cowell among them – thinking they were annoying, talentless, and looked absolutely ridiculous with that hair. Tourism Ireland even jokingly apologised to the UK for Jedward in 2009; it was very strange to hear the Irish apologising to us, for once.

Megan Wolfe & Jordon Mundell

“Married at First Sight” (2015-)

This show began as more of a documentary, as singletons signed up to be matched with potential partners by a cast of “experts”. But the format changed for the sixth series, which copied the Aussies’ version. With all the couples now living together in flats in one building and having regular social events organised by the production crew, the potential was there for people to stray. That was exactly what happened with Megan and Jordon, who cheated on their respective partners Bob and Alexis. We’re sure this drama got E4 high ratings, but Bob and Alexis really went through the wringer. Bob and Megan eventually decided to leave, with Megan seemingly putting minimal effort into the relationship.

Lady C

“I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!” (2002-)

Another “I’m a Celeb” gem was Lady C, a woman who was almost completely unknown by the general public before appearing on the show. She captured the nation’s attention immediately because of her bizarre accent, which was thanks to her growing up in Jamaica. Even the most innocent conversation would be turned into a fiery argument if Lady C was involved, which made her eminently watchable but widely disliked. And apparently, her more famous contemporaries in the cast – namely, Duncan Bannatyne – hated her as well, which led to her eventually quitting the show. She’s made a habit of appearing on reality shows ever since.

“Nasty” Nick Bateman

“Big Brother” (2000-18; 2023-)

He was popular in the first-ever “Big Brother” house in the UK, but not with the viewers at home. We saw all of his tricks as he manipulated the other contestants and ensured it so that they nominated others for eviction, and never him. And as it was, he NEVER got evicted, he was actually asked to leave by the producers after they intervened and informed the other housemates of his activities. He hasn’t shaken the “Nasty Nick” persona, though he’s all but disappeared from British media having long since moved to Australia. Maybe Down Under, they don’t know what he’s really like, and he’s free to scheme to his heart’s content.

Nicola Gill

“Blind Date” (1985-2003)

If the hisses and boos in the studio were anything to go by, people were outraged by Gill and her actions on “Blind Date”. Yes, this was the infamous journalist who plotted to get onto “Blind Date” and then write a column about her experience. Cilla was informed by producers that Gill worked for Cosmopolitan and was writing an article, but rather than tackle this behind-the-scenes, Cilla announced it to the whole studio while the cameras kept rolling. Worse, when Cilla asked Gill whether she had a boyfriend, she lied and said she was single – but, as on-screen captains revealed, she was engaged to be married. Her date, Paul, was devastated.

Jade Goody

“Big Brother” (2000-18; 2023-)

She was one of the first “Big Brother” contestants who shot to fame and became a genuine celebrity at the dawn of reality TV, but her reputation was complex, to say the least. During her tenure on “Big Brother” and then “Celebrity Big Brother”, she was routinely attacked by the media, dubbed “the most hated woman in Britain” by The Sun. In hindsight, this was classism, plain and simple, but perhaps more sickening than what the tabloids said was the way they changed their minds when she was diagnosed with terminal cancer. For all her flaws, she was clearly mistreated by the media and ultimately became beloved. Her death massively raised awareness of cervical cancer and led to a huge increase in women being screened.

Let us know in the comments who you think should be forgiven by the public.