The Valleys (TV series)

The Valleys is a British reality television series based in Cardiff, Wales and broadcast on MTV. The show first aired on 25 September 2012. It follows youngsters from the South Wales Valleys as they move to Cardiff to live out their dreams with the help from their new bosses, AK and Jordan.[1] On 1 June 2014 it had been announced that the show has been axed due to MTV venturing for new ideas and commissioning new shows such as Ex on the Beach.[2]

The Valleys
GenreReality
Created byMTV
StarringSee below
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original language(s)English, Welsh
No. of series3
No. of episodes22 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)Fiona O'Sullivan
Running time42 minutes
(excluding adverts)
Production company(s)True North Productions
DistributorViacom International Media Networks
Release
Original networkMTV
Picture format16:9 (HDTV)
Original release25 September 2012 (2012-09-25) –
15 April 2014 (2014-04-15)
Chronology
Related showsJersey Shore
Geordie Shore
Beauty School Cop Outs
The Only Way Is Essex
Acapulco Shore
Super Shore
External links
The Valleys

History

Series 1 of The Valleys premiered on 25 September 2012.[1]

It returned for series 2 on 30 April 2013. Before the series began, it was announced that twin brothers Anthony and Jason would be added to the cast.[3][4] Cast member Aron also announced his departure from the show.[5] The first promo for the second series premiered on 2 April 2013 during a new episode of Geordie Shore. On 23 April, a week before series 2 began, a special episode entitled "The Valleys: Filthy Bits" aired, which featured the best bits from series 1.

On 5 July 2013, cast member Leeroy confirmed there will be a Series 3 of The Valleys.[6] On 14 January 2014, it was announced that a new cast member would join for the third series of the show. The cast member was revealed to be Jack Watkins, a 24-year-old stripper. The series premiered 25 February 2014 and was filmed in various locations around the UK and Ireland, as "Valleywood Nights" went on tour.[7]

On 1 June 2014 it was announced that The Valleys had been axed by MTV due to the ratings drop, but there hasn't been an official comment from any MTV executives as of yet. "The Valleys has performed exceptionally well for MTV with three successful seasons behind it. However, with our audience always looking for new and engaging content, we're focused on developing new original programme ideas for the MTV schedule such as new smash hit Ex On The Beach to sit alongside returning favourites like Geordie Shore."[8]

Series
Year Series Predominate
location		No. of
episodes		Average
viewership
2012 Series 1 Cardiff, Wales 6 581,000
2013 Series 2 Cardiff, Wales 8 563,000
2014 Series 3 Cardiff, Wales 8 493,000
Note: These viewing figures are those of MTV and MTV+1[9]

Cast

The official cast members were revealed on 7 August 2012.[10] They are Aron Williams, Carley Belmonte, Darren Chidgey, Jenna Jonathan, Lateysha Grace, Leeroy Reed, Liam Powell, Natalee Harris and Nicole Morris. The series also features two bosses that will mentor the cast as they try to make it in the city of Cardiff. The bosses being Jordan Reed and Anna 'AK' Kelle.

During episode 3 which aired on 9 October 2012 Lateysha Grace left the house after falling out with her fellow cast mates. She later returned in episode 4 when the female cast travelled to Port Talbot to bring her back to Cardiff.

In episode 4, which aired on 16 October 2012 Chidgey and Natalee were kicked out of the house by club "owner"(manager) Jordan Reed, after fighting with one another during a night out.[11] Chidgey is later made a conditional offer (during episode 5) of being able to return to the house and series, as long as it's without Natalee.[12] He chose to return to the house, however Natalee still featured in the series but only outside of the house. She remained a cast member for the second series and returned to the house during the second episode.

On 21 March 2013, it was announced that there'd be 2 new additions to the cast. Twins, Anthony and Jason Suminski.[13][14] On the same day, Aron revealed that he would not be returning for the second series.[5]

On 30 April 2013 during the first episode of series 2, Anthony and Jason made their first appearances. Leeroy and Natalee did not feature in this episode despite still being cast members. Natalee returned to the house during the second episode on 7 May after apologising to AK for her actions in the first series. During this episode, Carley decided to voluntarily leave the house after constant arguments with Natalee and Liam, but returned in the next episode. Leeroy returned to the series in Episode 4, and though he did not permanently move back into the house, he continued to make frequent visits and was also featured in scenes outside of the house until the end of the series. In the final episode of series 2, Carley voluntarily decided to return to The Valleys due to her continued issues with Chidgey and Natalee. Jordan and AK then revealed which cast members they would like to continue working with in the future, with everyone being asked to return for the next series apart from Liam and Nicole. In December 2013, Leeroy announced on Twitter that he would not be returning for the third series.[15] On 27 January, Nicole announced she would be returning for the third series.[16]

On 14 January 2014, it was confirmed that Jack Watkins had joined the cast.[7] And on 27 January, despite originally being dropped from the show, it was announced that Nicole would be returning for the third series.[16]

SeriesEpisodesName[17]Age (at start of series)HometownDream
1–322Carley Belmonte21CaerphillyDJ and promoter
1–322Darren Chidgey25BridgendModel
1–322Jenna Jonathan21TonyrefailModel
1–322Lateysha Grace19Port TalbotModel and singer
1–320 Natalee Harris23PontypoolModel
1–322Nicole Morris19SwanseaStylist and photographer
2–316Jason Suminski22PontypriddModel
38Jack Watkins24CwmbranStripper
SeriesEpisodesName[17]Age (at start of series)HometownDream
1–211Leeroy Reed21BridgendRapper
1–214 Liam Powell25Ystrad MynachDJ and model
16Aron Williams19TredegarKickboxer
2–310Anthony Suminski22PontypriddModel

Duration of cast
The Valleys Series 1 cast
Cast members
Cast members Series 1 Series 2 Series 3
1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Carley
Chidgey
Jenna
Lateysha
Nicole
Natalee
Jason
Jack
Cast members
Cast members Series 1 Series 2 Series 3
1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Leeroy
Liam
Aron
Anthony

Notes
Key:      = "Cast member" is featured in this episode.
Key:      = "Cast member" arrives in the house.
Key:      = "Cast member" voluntarily leaves the house.
Key:      = "Cast member" is removed from the house.
Key:      = "Cast member" returns to the house.
Key:      = "Cast member" features in this episode, but outside of the house.
Key:      = "Cast member" does not feature in this episode.
Key:      = "Cast member" returns to the series.
Key:      = "Cast member" leaves the series.
Key:      = "Cast member" features in this episode despite not being an official cast member at the time.

Other appearances

As well as appearing in The Valleys, some of the cast members have competed in other reality TV shows including Big Brother.

Reception

Critical reception

Upon its premiere, The Valleys was slated by viewers and Welsh politicians alike. Rhondda MP Chris Bryant called the premise "hideously patronising".[18]

Welsh singer Charlotte Church was also highly critical of The Valleys. She tweeted that she felt it would be "exploitative" and "a horrific representation of the country that I love."[18][19]

Kerry Taylor, MTV's director of television, said: "It's absolutely not about stereotyping...I feel whenever you make a successful reality show, there are always some accusations. But the show is absolutely celebrating these nine young people and their mentors. It's very much about their individual stories."[19]

Controversy

Aside from the criticism over its portrayal of Wales, The Valleys has caused other controversies as well.

Cast member Lateysha Grace was arrested in September 2012 over accusations she assaulted another woman in a nightclub confrontation, but was later acquitted.[20]

International broadcasts
Country Channel Title Year Reference
 Australia
 New Zealand		 MTV Australia The Valleys 2012–14 [21]
 Serbia
 Croatia
 Slovenia
 Bosnia and Herzegovina
 Montenegro
 Republic of Macedonia
 MTV Adria 2013–14 [22]
 Spain
 Andorra		 MTV Spain [23]
 Poland MTV Poland Ekipa z Cardiff [24]
 Germany
 Austria		 MTV Germany The Valleys [25]
  Switzerland MTV Switzerland [26]
 Netherlands
 Belgium		 MTV Netherlands [27]
 Finland MTV Finland [28]
 Portugal MTV Portugal [29]
 Italy MTV Italia [30]
 France MTV France [31]
 Israel MTV Israel העמק 2015 [32]
gollark: I too enjoy committing war crimes.
gollark: Depends on dose, I guess.
gollark: Radiation poisoning?
gollark: Er. DNA and cell damage? I don't know exactly what would happen, but in the long run cancer and stuff.
gollark: Gamma rays have the "advantage" of being ionizing and thus messing you up in more ways than just purely heating you.

References
  1. "The Valleys". MTV UK.
  2. WalesOnline (1 June 2014). "MTV The Valleys show set to be axed after ratings drop".
  3. "The Valleys Is Back, Twins Jason & Anthony Join Cast!". MTV News. 21 March 2013.
  4. "The Valleys on Twitter".
  5. "Aron Williams on Twitter".
  6. Leeroy Reed (4 July 2013). "@jord1995_: @LeeroyValleys your single is ledge........ Is there gonna be a valleys series 3??" Thanks , yeah". Twitter.
  7. "Stripper Jack Joins The Valleys On Tour! - MTV UK".
  8. "The Valleys axed by MTV?". 1 June 2014.
  9. "Weekly Top 10 Programmes". BARB. Retrieved 1 February 2012.
  10. "Into The Valleys! Get the lowdown on MTV's brand new reality entertainment series…". MTV News. 7 August 2012.
  11. "thevalleysonline.com".
  12. "Chidgey Offered Lifeline To Return To The Valleys - MTV UK".
  13. "MTV Reality TV Shows".
  14. "MTV Reality TV Shows".
  15. "LEEROY REED on Twitter".
  16. "Nicole Morris on Twitter".
  17. "'The Valleys': Meet the cast of MTV show". 6 August 2012.
  18. "Jersey Shore-like newcomer The Valleys blasted in U.K." CBC News. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 25 September 2012. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
  19. Thomas, Huw (25 September 2012). "The Valleys: MTV defends south Wales reality show". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 22 June 2013.
  20. Turner, Robin (21 September 2012). "MTV's The Valleys star denies nightclub assault". WalesOnline. Media Wales. Retrieved 22 June 2013.
  21. "MTV Reality TV Shows".
  22. "The Valleys 3".
  23. "The Valleys - Programa | MTV España". www.mtv.es.
  24. "Ekipa z Cardiff - Shows - MTV". www.mtv.pl.
  25. "The Valleys - Shows - MTV".
  26. "MTV Germany | Neue Musikvideos, alle Shows, unterhaltsame News und Popkultur". www.mtv.de.
  27. "Shows: MTV Original TV Shows, Reality TV Shows | MTV Nederland". www.mtv.nl.
  28. "The Valleys - Shows - MTV".
  29. "MTV.PT Programas Serie The Valleys Page".
  30. "The Valleys - Programma | MTV Italia". www.mtv.it.
  31. "The Valleys épisode, télé réalité, description du programme - MTV.FR".
  32. "העמק - סדרה חדשה! - MTV Israel".
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