Make Me Famous was a TV film made for BBC Three that looks at the perils of reality TV fame and social media.
Billy (Tom Brittney) was a contestant on the reality TV show Love or Lust where he developed a reputation for being a cocky love rat. A year after appearing on the show he’s struggling financially and the shadow of his TV appearance still lingers. He is unable to cash in or return to a normal life.
The treatment of people who participated in reality TV has been placed under scrutiny in recent years. The Jeremy Kyle Show was cancelled after a participant took his life after a faulty lie detector test and the Love Island contestant Caroline Flack committed suicide in February 2020. Make Me Famous was filmed at the same time as Flack’s suicide which Brittney commented on his shock at the news. This made the film even more precedent.
Make Me Famous was made to be a showcase for the writer and director. It was written by TV presenter Reggie Yates who has a growing reputation as a filmmaker and directed by Peter King who’s respected on the short film circuit. They were ambitious with the story they wanted to tell and they do try to cover a lot of ground. However, there were two factors that affected the film: the run time and budget. Make Me Famous was only 53 minutes long and it was a production made for BBC Three, so not much money spent on it. This led to the film having to take shortcuts, namely telling instead of showing.
The film showed Billy’s struggles after the show and the occasional flashback to the interview process. The audience is just told about what happened on the show, like Billy playing the field and his potential relationship with former contestant, Michelle (Emma Rigby). There were no scenes showing the potential manipulation by the producers to show how constructed these programmes really are, or the vilification of Billy in the tabloids or social media. If Make Me Famous was a short film it could have narrowed its focus or a 90-minute long film it could have gone into more detail.
The aim of Make Me Famous was to show the post-fame life of reality TV stars and it opens with a statement that it was based on interviews with former contestants. Make Me Famous showed Billy having to go to PR events and nightclubs for less and less money, take photos with people even if he didn’t want to, and get abuse thrown at him by random people on the street and online. Due to his antics on the show Billy was unable to get a normal job and go back to his old life.
The other aim was to show that fame on reality TV shouldn’t be something young people should aim for and being an Instagram influencer isn’t as glamorous as it seems. Billy saw Love or Lust as his ticket out of a boring life, but he had no long-term plan like other contestants. For every Gemma Collins and Dani Dyer, there are many more reality TV stars who are just forgotten. On the social media side Billy had to constantly keep posting. He had reminders on his phone for when to post even when he wasn’t in the mood. It was an obligation and a chore. The reminders and the ending gave Make Me Famous a bit of a Black Mirror feel to it.
Make Me Famous did want to show there were other factors to Billy’s mindset. Billy revealed he was overweight as a teenager and called ‘Billy Boobs.’ This insecurity stuck with him because he still checked his reflection in windows because he was worried about his body shape even though he grew up to be a good-looking man. The abuse Billy received online took its toll, adding to the whirlpool of despair and his insecurities.
Make Me Famous was a well-intended TV film that looks at the culture we are currently living in, but it needed to be fleshed out.
Make Me Famous is currently available on the BBC iPlayer
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