Reality workers want €400,000

FIFTY-SEVEN participants in the reality TV show L’Ile de la Tentation are demanding €400,000 each for their “work” on the show.

The Versailles appeal court is being asked to rule by April 5 on how much they should have been paid, following an earlier definitive ruling in 2009 by the Cour de Cassation that participating in the show is a job. Legal wrangling, however, continued over what it should pay.

The show, called Temptation Island in its original American version, involves couples being split up to spend time on holiday on an exotic island surrounded by attractive singles.

According to their lawyer, Jérémie Assous, the participants were at the beck and call of the producer 24 hours a day during the 12-17 days of filming. He claims the sums he is asking for are reasonable compared to the large revenues reality shows bring in.

The president of TF1, Edouard Boccon-Gibod, said, so far, other courts have based their awards on the minimum wage.

One of the participants in 2005 told radio station Europe 1: “It was an acting role. We were obliged to repeat lines and re-shoot certain scenes.”

While TF1 has had to accept that candidates on such shows should now be given work contracts, Mr Boccon-Gibod said he still does not agree. “Philosophically I can’t bring myself to think that the candidates are doing a job, because they are living a personal experience,” he said.

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