Speaking at the National Reality TV Awards, three stars of some of the UK's most loved reality TV shows have laid bare the secret production tricks used to keep us a captive audience12:36, 30 Jul 2026Updated 12:37, 30 Jul 2026From Love Island to the Real Housewives, reality TV has us hooked, whether we want to admit it or not - but how do they do it? Three of the UK's reality stars have given an insider's perspective on how production keep us watching.‌Jaz Singh appeared on The Traitors' second season and earned the name 'Jazatha Christie' after correctly deducing that Harry Clark was a traitor. Speaking to The Mirror at the National Reality TV awards, Jaz explained that producers put a lot of work into making reality TV: “Reality isn’t reality anymore.‌"It’s what we perceive reality is. I remember watching the first season of the Apprentice, and if anyone takes the time to find that show, that is reality. It’s raw, unedited, not produced in any sort of way."‌He added that it was "weird to see how things have changed" by the time he was on the Traitors in 2024. He admitted that Traitors felt different to some other shows, as it allowed people from all walks of life to meet. “That’s the beauty of traitors, no matter where you’re from, ethnicity, race, it doesn’t matter," he said. "It’s so random, we’re just a random bunch of people put up in a castle, and automatically, you start getting on with people that you wouldn’t normally think, ‘I’d get on with you.’”Despite this, he was clear that there were similarities amongst many reality TV shows that kept people coming back. For instance, he said he was "hooked on Love Island".‌"It was a great show to be fair. Love Island and Traitors are very similar, it’s just Traitors in swim shorts and bikinis. It’s a game of emotional intelligence.”Rajan Gill, who was on The Apprentice's 20th series earlier this year, also said that The Apprentice had changed. “ Lord Sugar has definitely gotten softer. He’s sweetened up a bit. Watching it as a kid, people used to get grilled in the boardroom. Not saying we didn’t get grilled, but there’s been some significant, good changes.”‌He added that reality TV bosses seemed to be looking more to streaming platforms for their production models. Platforms such as Netflix and Disney have had huge success in recent years with shows such as Love is Blind and The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, which largely eschew public participation to focus on the drama between its stars.“Reality TV in the future will definitely be a lot more streaming involved," he said. "Less of crowd participation, live events, stuff like that. Which I think is a bit of a shame. I’m a bit more old school, I prefer the real life interactions with crowds.”Richard Storry, Big Brother's oldest winner aged 60, agreed that things were changing, though he said that this was likely the result of the public making their preferences known. He pointed to his own win and suggested that this meant there would be a shift in casting in the coming years.‌He said: “I think reality TV is taking over from traditional programming. Big Brother was the first of its kind and it seems to be sticking to its original roots, although I think, since you’re talking to the oldest ever winner of Big Brother, the producers have put their thinking caps on a bit.”During his time on the show last autumn, Richard was one of just four out of 17 contestants over the age of 30. Many viewers at the time said they felt the show had focussed too much on trying to get younger contestants. As one said: "He encompasses what big brother IS about and i hope this encourages the casting team next series to get more diverse with age ranges and isn’t mostly made up of 20+ year olds again."Article continues belowLike this story? For more of the latest showbiz news and gossip, follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok , Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads .