Grivas has a highly successful career in reality TV. He is respected and known in the industry for his work on Naked Attraction, Tattoo Fixers on Holiday, Stripped and Stranded, Paul O’Grady: For the Love of Dogs, Unbelievable, and numerous others. Phil Harris, Head of Entertainment at Lime Pictures, describes Kopti’s status in the industry as well as why Grivas was his choice for Celebs Go Dating stating, “Grivas is one of the most highly talented associate producers in the field with a wealth of accolades throughout his career. As an undeniable leading presence on a number of hit shows, his achievements in the television industry are evidence of the high standing he has achieved among his peers and the massive success of each of his projects.” Due to the nature of his vocation, Kopti has worked with countless celebrities; the opportunities which Celebs Go Dating provided were intriguing to him. He notes, “We often see celebrities putting on a confident front, a brave face. It’s usually all part of their brand and public persona. Celebs Go Dating offers them a rare opportunity to be vulnerable and open up without looking silly. Everyone can relate to letting their guard down to find love. I don’t think that sensationalism is intrinsic to reality TV, it can provide a positive influence when guided correctly.”
Matching contributors and celebrities is only part of the equation. Creating an atmosphere that is conducive to both sides relaxing, relating, and sharing a bond can be quite difficult…especially when the interaction is being filmed. Locations like restaurants used a fixed-rig (discreet and somewhat unnoticeable cameras) and crew sizes were kept to an extreme minimum. As with many environments, participants soon forgot about the filming and relaxed into being themselves. Sometimes the situations in which the contributors found themselves was a little more difficult to feel normal in. Grivas states, “There is an excitement that you feel for the contributors. Not only are they on a date with someone they are interested in but, they sometimes were going to restaurants or parties that they might not normally gain access to, and meeting other famous people. You hope that they make a connection on their date but at the very least, there is an escapism into a glamorous world. Some contributors would see their faces online and be photographed by the paparazzi. We purposely avoided casting people who are drawn to that type of thing but it still can be a bit of excitement for the everyday individual.”
With only weeks on air, Celebs Go Dating has been a resounding success on UK TV. The program airs Monday-Friday at the prime-time 10PM slot and has been continually coming out on top. The viewing public is quite taken with the show, possibly due to the “Cinderella” type theme it provides. A vital aspect is that the outcome is not fixed which means sometimes the results are positive and sometimes not. Celebs Go Dating believes in the moniker Reality TV. Kopti confirms, “There are times when our contributors are disappointed… if a celebrity wasn’t into them. We did give them a heads-up. That’s real life for you – you don’t always spark with somebody you are theoretically a good match with. I understand, being turned down by a celebrity on camera…ouch! We had a few bruised egos. Some people let their nerves get the better of them and the date was disastrous; funny, but messy. All of the celebrities on the show are highly esteemed and well-known names, especially in the world of reality TV; people like Stephanie Pratt. She genuinely is fed up of mingling with high profile names and wanted to meet a man with a more stable profession and mature perspective. She had some success on the show. I can’t tell you too much right now as the show is going out for the next 2 weeks… tune in.”