Handcuffed: Last Pair Standing review – demeaning for everyone involved, not least Jonathan Ross
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<p>Channel 4’s edgy new ‘social experiment’ cuffs strangers together in a bid to heal a divided Britain. Instead, what emerges is nasty, crass and completely abysmal</p><p>After his brilliantly machiavellian performance on The Celebrity Traitors, Jonathan Ross was destined to pop up on our screens again soon. Cue his big post-Traitors gig, hosting Channel 4’s new six-part “social experiment”. It is, explains Ross, a show about whether “a divided Britain [can] settle its differe
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Review Handcuffed: Last Pair Standing review – demeaning for everyone involved, not least Jonathan Ross Channel 4’s edgy new ‘social experiment’ cuffs strangers together in a bid to heal a divided Britain. Instead, what emerges is nasty, crass and completely abysmal A fter his brilliantly machiavellian performance on The Celebrity Traitors, Jonathan Ross was destined to pop up on our screens again soon. Cue his big post-Traitors gig, hosting Channel 4’s new six-part “social experiment”. It is, explains Ross, a show about whether “a divided Britain settle its differences”, by handcuffing two strangers from different walks of life together for 24 hours a day (including in the shower – ooh-er!) and seeing who can last the longest for a shot at a £100,000 prize. Really, though, it’s a show that manipulates those differences for views – a cheap throwback to Wife Swap at best and The Jeremy Kyle Show at worst. Each pair has clearly been selected for maximum mutual discomfort. Jo is the owner of a plus-size fashion brand and Reuben thinks fat people are lazy; Tilly spends her spare time helping homeless people while millionaire Anthony reckons he’s an expert ’cos he’s been camping before; George is a former prison officer who believes learning is the best way to empower himself while Sir Ben is an aristocrat who – despite having an expensive education – still chooses to own a painting by Adolf Hitler. After being introduced to one another on stage in awkward, Blind Date-style segments, the cuffs are slapped on, only to be removed – or rather extended with a chain, Ross explains – if they need to do a “number two”. How demeaning for everyone involved, not least Wossy. Over the four episodes released for review, Ross isn’t really given much to do – he is a disembodied voice, introducing Handcuffed’s victims with trite labels like “a cleaner who can’t stop swearing” and “an alpha male” . Not that they aren’t already judging each other – one handcuffee looks at their mate and ...
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