A Brief History Of Using Twins To Prop Up A TV Format

One of the best things about reality TV is how little it changes from series to series. The Apprentice has made literally one edit to its offering in fifteen years. The X Factor had barely touched the routine before it brought celebrities on board.

But the downside of never changing anything is that after years and years of a show, it can start to feel a little stale. Which is exactly when they bring out the twins. An easy, appealing quirk to reinvigorate a stale format and create a talking point, without making any significant changes.

Adding twins to the line-up of a reality TV show in order to spice things up is a tale as old as time. Or at least a tale as old as telly.

In 2002, The Cheeky Girls took part in Pop Idol, performing the iconic Cheeky Song (Touch My Bum) which was arguably the architectural foundation of the twins-on-reality-Tv - a trope which eventually resulted in Irish singing duo Jedward.

An interesting aspect to the inclusion of twins is the willingness of producers to have two people take part as 'one' singular person. In 2007, Big Brother saw 'Samanda' (Samantha and Amanda) compete as a single entity, despite demonstrably being two different people.

It's not just a UK phenomenon, either. In 2006, America's Next Top Model, which was on its seventh series in just three years, gave the world Michelle and Amanda, who competed as separate people and were pitted against each other - Michelle the 'natural' model who didn't have to try, apparently more talented than her devoted and hard working sister.

Now Love Island, one of the UK's most successful TV franchises, have gone down the twin route, putting 20-year-old Eve and Jess Gale in the villa.

So, why is adding twins into the format so much more appealing than other more 2020 changes like having more body diversity or LGBT+ contestants?

Probably because there is a universal fascination about twins. They look the same! But they're not the same! Adding twins into the mix brings and element of an old-school sideshow, inviting us normies to tarry a while viewing oddities for our amusement.

There's also an element of fantasy about twins. What's more appealing than one really attractive woman in a swimsuit? Two identically attractive women in swimsuits, of course. Love Island's pair have already garnered the bulk of the interest ahead of the show starting (aside from Rochelle Humes' sister and the boy who claims to part-own Cornwall).

But the most appealing thing about twins has got to be the drama. Where other contestants are able to form 'showmances' and fake friendships for gain, the relationship between twins is undeniably real and unquestionably significant. What better to get the UK on the edge of their seat than to test that relationship?

Inevitably being on Love Island will present challenges for these women. What will happen if one of them is chosen over the other? If they both fancy the same person? If a male contestant decides he wants to swap one sister for the other? Or worse, if one is better liked by the viewing public than the other?

The format of the show means it's impossible for them to win together, so by the end of the show they'll know without any shadow of a doubt which sister the nation prefers. Let's just hope that by the end of the series their relationship is still fully in tact.

Let's check out the rest of the Love Island cast...