The Best Reality TV Moments
From the Kardashians to the Osbournes, via TOWIE and MIC, we remember our favourite OMG moments from the world of reality TV
Photo Editor: Sandra Waibl
Getty ImagesKeeping Up With The Kardashians
Who would have guessed that the daily antics of the female-dominated Kardashian-Jenner <strike>clan</strike> klan would have kept the public so enthralled. We’ve seen them through the big life moments: divorce, weddings, babies, fertility problems and gender transitioning, and the not-so-big moments: remember wine-on-cushion-gate? And when Scott became Lord Disick?
Memorable Moments: The countless weddings, anything that comes out of Scott’s mouth and when Kim lost her diamond earring in the sea.
Channel 4Made In Chelsea
As well as making us realise that posh people have quite silly names (Caggie, Binky, Toff and Cheska we’re looking at you), Made In Chelsea made the revelation that the inhabitants of SW3 are as badly behaved as the rest of us. Think going to a spa is relaxing? Not on this show. There’s usually an argument in dressing gowns going on somewhere. And drinks on MIC aren’t actually for drinking; they’re for throwing into people’s faces.
Memorable Moments: The Spencer/Caggie romance that never was, Mark-Francis and Francis Boulle’s failed attempts at finding love.
Getty ImagesThe Osbournes
Way back in 2002, The Osbournes made the Kardashians look normal. Ozzy Osbourne recently admitted he was stoned during the filming of the series, which probably won’t come as a surprise to regular viewers. Set in the chaotic home of Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne, the show followed family’s daily life, including Sharon’s battle with cancer, Ozzy’s attempts to stay sober and their often-unruly children Jack and Kelly.
Memorable Moments: So many! When Ozzy took on the remote control when the TV got stuck on The Weather Channel (the remote control won); when Ozzy fell back off a chair, the dogs.
Getty ImagesThe Real Housewives of Beverly Hills
Of all The Real Housewives shows, the women on the Beverly Hills version are way ahead of the rest when it comes to wealth, wardrobe and warring. Every party comes with amazing ocean views and oceans of flowers, plus there’s always drama, drama, drama.
Memorable Moments: Kyle and Kim’s sibling spats, Brandi falling out with everyone, and Pandora’s insane wedding.
Channel 4Gogglebox
Who would have guessed that people sitting around watching TV could be so interesting? Gogglebox really showed us. Their musings on everything from the Election coverage and Game of Thrones to The Natural World and Downton Abbey had us all in hysterics.
Memorable Moments: Everything Scarlett from Newcastle says, the silent boyfriend Jay and the Comic Relief Celebrity Special – who knew Noel Gallagher watched The X Factor?
Rex FeaturesThe Hills
It’s the show that gave us LC, Heidi Montag, Whitney Port and Stephanie Pratt. They all had great tans, great jobs (or at least internships) and great apartments – you’d think these LA kids would be walking on air. Wrong! There were so, so many arguments, mostly thanks to a certain Spencer Pratt.
Memorable Moments: The hair tongs incident in Paris, Heidi and Spencer’s crazy romance, when we first saw Brody Jenner, when Whitney was asked to model and fell over on live TV.
Getty ImagesNewlyweds: Nick & Jessica
Nick Lachey and Jessica Simpson’s Newlyweds show was compulsive viewing circa 2003. Nick was the sweet, attentive husband, while Jessica played up to her naïve, dumb blonde persona.
Memorable Moments: Chicken of the Sea (is it chicken or fish?), Buffalo wings and when they went camping, complete with Louis Vuitton handbags.
Rex FeaturesThe Simple Life
In case you aren’t aware of the premise of this show: socialites Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie were given manual, low-paid jobs and it was all caught on camera. The two LA-born friends had jobs as maids, milked cows and even worked in a fast food restaurant - often with disastrous but funny results.
Memorable Moments: When Nicole puts her hand up a cow, when Paris fell off her horse, when they called Kim Kardashian “a Ho”.
Rex FeaturesJersey Shore
Jersey Shore captured what happened when you take eight Italian-Americans, put them in a house in New Jersey for the summer and pour alcohol down them. Clue: fireworks and an audience of 4m. Sure, the cast weren’t particularly clever/attractive/talented but they had a certain something that just kept us tuning in.
Memorable Moments: Sammi and JWoww’s fight, the hot tub, when Snooki got arrested for being drunk on the beach.
Getty ImagesHere Comes Honey Boo Boo
A spin-off of Toddlers & Tiaras, Here Comes Honey Boo Boo followed the child beauty pageant Alana "Honey Boo Boo" Thompson and her dysfunctional family in Georgia.
Memorable Moments: “I have chicken nugget power!” and when HBB ate a salad.
Rex FeaturesThe City
We went from The Hills to The City in 2008 as we followed Whitney Port to New York as she started working for Diane Von Furstenberg. It was here she met her frenemy Olivia Palermo and the antagonism began…
Memorable Moments: Olivia Palermo’s put-downs and her constant eye-rolling, the first fashion show of Whitney’s line.
Rex FeaturesThe Only Way Is Essex
TOWIE has all the ingredients of your classic reality TV show: bitching, backstabbing and a pyramid of love triangles. Plus, it brought us vajazzling, the “no carbs before Marbs” mantra and the word “Reem”. No wonder we Sky-plussed half of it!
Memorable Moments: Mr Darcy the pig, Lauren & Mark’s pool party bust-up, Nanny Pat.
Rex FeaturesCastaway 2000
What were you doing for the Millennium? Well, a lot of us were watching Castaway 2000, which followed the lives of 36 people chosen to build a community on the remote Scottish island of Taransay. They built their own homes, grew their own vegetables and braved a lot of rain.
Memorable Moments: Island tottie Ben Fogle, the moving video diaries, when everyone came together to part-tay!
Getty ImagesThe Real World
Putting a group of young teens in a city apartment and filming it might not seem particularly ground-breaking now but back in 1992, The Real World was breaking new boundaries. The show highlighted the issues facing youngsters in the 90s, including sex, AIDs, racism, sexuality and drug abuse, and featured a few now-famous faces, including Jamie Chung and Bridget Jones actress Jacinda Barrett.
Memorable Moments: Pedro Zamora and Sean Sasser’s wedding (the first civil union on American TV), Janelle Casanave (pictured) and the first threesome on reality TV.
Getty ImagesThe Bachelor
The road to true love never doth run smooth and that is certainly the case if you take part in this show. The Bachelor centres on one eligible man, who is expected to choose a wife from a possible 25 candidates by taking them on a series of dates.
Memorable Moments: When it emerged one of the candidates was romancing the show’s producer, when Jason Mesnick realised he’d proposed to the wrong girl and changed his mind in the season finale.
Getty ImagesLaguna Beach: The Real Orange County
Every reality TV star has got to get their big break somewhere and for Lauren Conrad, Lo Bosworth and Kristin Cavallari it was on Laguna Beach. The show chronicled the lives of a group of students at high school, with love triangles, conflict and tears galore.
Memorable Moments: Kristin and Stephen’s Cabo fight, Jason kissing Jessica at Lauren’s fashion show, Lauren and Kristin’s many arguments.
Rex FeaturesI'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!
Put 12 celebrities in the Australian jungle, give them bikinis and make them eat insects: that’s the basic concept behind I’m A Celebrity…. Amazingly, the first episode aired back in 2002 and since then we’ve seen the likes of Jason Donovan, Dougie Poynter and Tara Palmer-Tomkinson take on a the jungle and come out scathed to various extents.
Memorable Moments: Katie Price & Peter Andre’s budding romance, Paul Burrell’s hilarious facial expressions during his Bushtucker trial and Myleene Klass showering (so jel).
Rex FeaturesLove Island
For a show that was set in Paradise, the original two series of Love Island were beset by quite a few problems: apparently the presenters Kelly Brook and Patrick Kielty fell out, a live version of the first series had to be cancelled because of six-foot waves and the A-list contestants were accused of being boring. It couldn’t have been that bad though - a new series has been aired.
Memorable Moments: Calum Best and Bianca Gascoigne’s unlikely romance and Lady Victoria Hervey pouring a bottle of wine of Sophie Anderton.
Rex FeaturesGeordie Shore
If you thought the inhabitants of Jersey Shore were badly behaved, you obviously haven’t been to Newcastle. The show follows the lives of young Geordies drinking and sleeping their way around the city, and generally causing complete chaos.
Memorable Moments: Anything with Charlotte “mortaled” or going back to Gaz.
Getty ImagesBritney and Kevin: Chaotic
Back in the day when K-Fed and Britney were love’s young dream, they decided to film their courtship, engagement and wedding. “I am now going to be expressing my personal life through art," Britney declared. It might not have been art, but it was certainly addictive watching.
Memorable Moments: When they propose to each other in Paris and the surprise wedding.
