It truly reflects the current dating climate for young people that are living in a digital age and constantly glued to screens. This show is about interrogating how far online chemistry can go without that in-person connection – someone could be hugely flirty and forward online, but when you meet them, they could be super shy and quiet!
Zara McDermott
After presenting two documentaries for BBC Three, Zara McDermott will host Love In The Flesh, an 8 x 45 series that focuses on real-life potential couples who have already formed relationships via dating apps and social media but who have never met each other in the real world. These online daters will be whisked away from the pressures of daily life and screens to explore whether their online relationships can turn into love in the flesh.
Having started their relationships through apps, stories and DMs, some couples will have been chatting for years whilst others have only been flirting for months or weeks. But does their online persona match their real world self?
None of them have met due to personal situations or factors like location so they will meet each other for the first time at a beach house and finally get the opportunity to spend proper time together. This is where they begin to find out what the person theyve been chatting to all this time is really like and whether this is a relationship they want to take back into the real world.
As with all relationships, some will work and some wont. If online couples do decide to split, there are opportunities to form new relationships and to compare the chemistry of online versus real world connections.
Throughout the series, the couples learn from each other, take on challenges to explore different sides of their relationship and discuss the differences in their dating behaviour when there are no filters and no screens to hide behind. Zara is there as a confidante and a guide and the series will also unpick wider themes relating to dating and the benefits or pitfalls when it comes to trying to make connections online or in person.
Fiona Campbell, Controller, BBC Three says: Love in the Flesh is a fresh new format for BBC Three that tackles modern dating. As more and more relationships begin online and often never move to the real world, we wanted to explore the differences between dating online and dating in person in a fun, engaging way. Meeting new partners in person has been hard and loneliness has been a big issue so this series aims to couple the best bits of reality TV with purpose. Its great to be working with Zara again who is really proving herself as a versatile presenter and brilliant new talent for BBC Three.
Zara McDermott, says: Making Love In The Flesh was an incredible experience and being able to present this show is an absolute dream come true for me. It truly reflects the current dating climate for young people that are living in a digital age and constantly glued to screens. This show is about interrogating how far online chemistry can go without that in-person connection – someone could be hugely flirty and forward online, but when you meet them, they could be super shy and quiet!
I loved meeting the couples for the first time, some had been speaking online for YEARS and the emotion and anticipation behind each of those moments was incredibly touching and watching those relationships cross from digital to real life with my very own eyes was really magical. Im really glad to be part of a series that tells some amazing stories and gives our couples the chance to take the plunge with relationships that otherwise may never have come to existence. Im sure the audience will connect with many of the stories in the same way that I did”
Love in the Flesh is an 8 x 45 series produced by Ten66 Television. It was commissioned by Clare Sillery, Head of Documentaries, and Fiona Campbell, Controller BBC Three. The Commissioning Editors for the BBC are Emily Smith and Max Gogarty. The Executive Producers for Ten66 are Andrew Robertson and Rukhsana Mosam.