Don’t miss it! BBC adds a “gut-churning” true story about the ‘world’s first reality TV star’

The heart-pounding true tale, “The Contestant,” chronicling the life of one of the initial reality TV celebrities, can now be streamed on BBC iPlayer.

At the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival, a documentary made its debut chronicling the tale of Tomoaki Hamatsu, an up-and-coming comedian in 1998. He received news that he would be participating in a television competition.

In a different setting, he was led to a room where he was instructed to remove all his clothes. A pile of magazines were provided for him, the task being to participate in contests within these periodicals with the goal of claiming essentials to sustain himself, ranging from food and clothing to appliances.

His aim was to participate in contests until he reached a prize money target of approximately 1,000,000 yen (equivalent to around £5,000).

During his time on the show, Tomoaki earned the nickname ‘Eggplant’ (Nasubi in Japanese), as a result of his private areas frequently being covered with an eggplant emoji during live streams.

In the end, he spent fifteen months confined to one room without any clothing, and every week of his life was condensed into a segment that was shown on television to millions of viewers weekly.

Director Clair Titley explained that she became inspired to share the story of Nasubi following a deep dive into various online resources.

Last year, she shared with BBC News that much of what she encountered seemed rather dismissive. In-depth discussions on Nasubi’s story were scarce, as it turned out.

I found myself pondering various queries like, ‘Why did he remain there?’ and ‘What impact did this have on him.’ To explore these questions further, I reached out to him with the idea of creating a movie based on his personal ordeal.

Currently, the documentary has been highly appreciated by 92% of critics on Rotten Tomatoes, who commend its narrative of an unusual and ruthless tale about a pioneer in the realm of early reality television.

In simpler terms, the article from The Atlantic states that what stands out about The Contestant is that its main character was able to restore his belief in humanity, even after all the hardships he encountered.

During the course of the documentary, Variety commended a surprising turn in the plot, stating: “Suddenly, the film shifts from being merely intriguing to truly heart-wrenching. It ventures into an emotional realm that it rarely leaves after this point.

The Contestant is streaming now on BBC iPlayer.

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2025-06-17 17:49