Season 1
Dirty Cows is a British reality television dating competition produced by Living TV in which 10 city girls leave their lives behind to compete for the love of a wealthy farmer, while performing manual labour tasks around the farm.
The series originally premiered in the UK on Living on 22 August, 2007. There are eight 60-minute episodes in the series.
Dirty Cows premiered in South Africa on DStv's GO channel on Monday 1 September 2008, at 20h00.
Repeats
Tuesdays: 14h00
Saturdays: 21h30
Synopsis
Take 10 perfectly manicured girls, one cold and lofty South West England barn, add a handsome, rich young farmer looking for love and you've got the recipe for the reality series Dirty Cows.
Waving goodbye to their perfectly manicured nails, Prada handbags and Gucci sunglasses, the Dirty Cows will leave their swanky London lives looking for love and for a taste of the simple life.
Over the season, guided by the eccentric Tara Palmer-Tomkinson, the girls will be knee deep in manure, be chased by turkeys and hounded at the barn dance. All in a bid to fight off stiff competition from their ruthless rivals and win the heart of the local farmer.
From day one on the farm, the girls will be thrown in quite literally at the deep end when, donning their waders, they’re introduced to salmon fishing – but who will sink and who will swim?
Physically, mentally and emotionally the girls will be challenged on every level, wrestling with and shearing sheep, dairy farming and even tractor driving. The stakes are high and the girls have everything to play for in this survival of the fittest.
Each week, Alexy will choose one of the girls to go on a date with, where they can get to know each other one on one.
However the path of true love has never run smoothly and with inevitable cat fights and sulky strops, it’s a rollercoaster journey through tears, tantrums and bittersweet successes as the girls overcome their fears.
Along the way the girls will get a crash course in how the other half live - they'll learn how to pluck chickens, how to wrestle pigs, how to shear sheep and maybe even learn a little about themselves.
Each week one malfunctioning milkmaid will be sent packing – back to their old city life until just one remains – the girl who will win Alexy’s heart and jet off with him to the Caribbean for a two-week luxury holiday.
Controversy
After the show aired in the UK claims were made by contestants that bachelor Alexy was dating presenter Tara Palmer-Tomkinson well before the show had finished filming.
One contestant, Chantelle Minifee from Cardiff, told the Daily Mail: "It was a bit ridiculous to be honest - from day one they were all over each other.
"They held hands and kissed, cuddled and snuggled up.
"All you could hear was 'Alexy this' and 'Alexy that' from her - and when some of the girls confronted him he just laughed and tried to brush it off.
"It was an open secret on the set and all the production staff were talking about Tara and her relationship with Alexy.
"I went on the show hoping to find love but Tara had bagged the only man before I even arrived.
"Tara started off being really friendly to the girls but by the end she was very standoffish. I think it was because Alexy had to kiss the girls as part of the show and she wasn't very keen on that.
"When I asked him if he was sleeping with Tara he said he couldn't talk to me because of the show rules. He hid behind them for his convenience.
"It was a joke. Tara was supposed to be helping us girls find love but all along she had her eye on Alexy. They were inseparable off camera. She would kiss him on the cheek and cuddle him and hold his hand. They were as much of a couple as you can be.
"The only thing I didn't see was inside the bedroom but the rumours on set were rife."
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