Still stinging from the fierce viewer backlash they faced last year, Woman’s Day hears that experts Alessandra Rampolla, Mel Schilling and John Aiken are taking no prisoners this season and have made it known that they have no time for any antics!
“Mel, John and Alessandra all take their jobs very seriously,” says our on-set spy, adding, “so when a couple don’t work out, they are genuinely saddened.
“It also reflects poorly on them and their work, so this year they really tried to get the couples to work through their issues – no matter how hard they pushed sometimes.”
REVVING IT UP FOR RATINGS
With the judges already so invested, another source tells us the producers were asking the experts to grill the couples a little more than usual, in a bid to keep the drama up during filming.
“The pressure was on this year – it was the first season with a new executive producer,” they spill, after the show’s “mastermind” Tara McWilliams was promoted and now has less direct involvement than usual.
“The producers were really getting into the ears of the experts – quite literally yelling from their couches – asking for more, more, more,” says the spy.
“The commitment ceremonies went forever this year because the experts had to keep redirecting their line of questioning to suit the producers,” says an insider, noting some taping went for over 12 hours.
However, the desire for higher ratings did little for the contestants, who were said to have complained “on more than one occasion” about the treatment they were receiving from the experts.
“One contestant was even seen crying her eyes out to producers,” the source adds.
It comes after whispers that yet another couple will be kicked off the show this year by the experts, after Daniel Holmes and Carolina Santos were shown the door last season when they attempted to return to the experiment as a couple.
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