The Door
It’s time to face what lies behind
The Door…
In this brand-new, two-part special for ITV1, six celebrities will put their bravery to the
test and take on the challenge of enduring a multitude of tests, all delicately designed
to instil in them a mix of emotions, from fear to total confusion, as they discover what
lies behind The Door.
Actors Dean Gaffney, Louisa Lytton, Coronation Street’s Jennie McAlpine,
Boyzone’s Keith Duffy join television presenter Michael Underwood and The
Saturday’s singer Frankie Sandford as they compete against each other in the
ultimate celebrity endeavour contest.
The anxious contestants will pass through a series of doors. Each will transport them
to unexpected places where they will face challenges that will assault all their
senses. They will battle claustrophobic spaces, suffer shocks, and, hopefully with a
sense of adventure, cope with disorientating games as they battle it out to be the last
star standing and claim a cash prize for their chosen charity.
Presiding over the entertaining thrills and spills is Chris Tarrant and Amanda
Holden, who will be on hand to prepare the celebrities for what lies ahead and
provide detailed commentary from their insider vantage point.
In this knockout competition, each door will claim a victim. By the end of the first
episode, three of the celebrities will have made it through to the final.
For the three ‘losers’, a long and arduous ordeal awaits, during which they’ll face a
series of disorientating challenges, after surviving which, one will have earned the
last remaining place in the final showdown and two will have to leave.
In the concluding instalment, the four finalists take part in two head-to-head contests,
before the last two remaining celebrities do battle in the final challenge until only the
winner remains.
They’ll scream, we’ll laugh, but can the celebrities survive their adventure or fall
victim to their fears?
THE DOOR…OPENING SPRING 2010
The Door, a two-part special, is an ITV Studios production for ITV1.
Press contacts:
Mark Boustead
ITV Press Office
[email protected]
0207 157 3015
Picture contact:
Shane Chapman
ITV Press Office
[email protected]
0207 157 3043
INTERVIEWS
***THE BELOW INTERVIEWS ARE EMBARGOED FOR USE IN
ANY FORM UNTIL TUESDAY 23RD MARCH 2010***
Chris Tarrant
Host Chris says The Door “Is the most challenging thing I’ve ever seen celebrities put
through.”
“All six of them confronted their private demons,” he continues, “and some found
some new demons that they’d never even thought of.”
Chris continues, “What was amazing to Amanda and myself was how badly each one
of them wanted to prove themselves in the most daunting, frightening and sometimes
thoroughly unpleasant situations.
When asked if he would ever take part, he is quick to say, “I would never have gone
in for it myself in a million years.”
Chris also noticed how they got on as a team. “What was noticeable straight away,
and they didn’t all know each other and in some cases they had never met, was that
they immediately bonded…I think it was like huddling together against unknown
territory.”
He adds, “It was like waking up and finding yourself in a prison camp.”
“The scale of the set was absolutely massive,” Chris continues, “it’s probably the
biggest studio I have ever worked in. It was just extraordinary.”
Finally, did he enjoy the experience? “I thoroughly enjoyed it but I was very glad to be
doing my job instead of their’s!”
Amanda Holden
When asked what people can expect from The Door, host Amanda says, “Viewers
can expect nothing like it before.”
What did Amanda make of the sets? “It’s a huge production with massive movie-style
sets that look amazing and authentic.”
When asked that the contestants make of the challenges, she says, “All the
celebrities were overcome by what they were asked to do. It made them really reach,
or retch, deep down to cope.
“They all came up with the goods and dealt with stuff physically well and intelligently,”
she continues. “Chris and I underestimated them at first. They proved us wrong on a
lot of levels.”
How did the celebrities work as a team? “They were very generous with each other
when performing as a team and very quickly formed a strong bond despite not really
knowing each other.
“It was fascinating to watch how they all reacted on such a basic human level.”
Did any one person stand out? “There were definite leaders, but each of them
showed strengths in different ways. There was a lot of screaming and gagging.
“We have re-named Dean ‘Dean Gag-ney.’ It was horrific.”
“Chris and I, and in fact the entire crew, wore gas masks at one point because the
stench was so awful, worse than anything you can imagine,” Amanda says when
commenting on some of the challenges.
So, would Amanda consider taking part in the Door? “There is absolutely no way I
would have done any of the challenges myself. I would rather run naked through
Prime Minister’s Question Time!”
Michael Underwood
When asked what viewers expect from The Door, Michael says, “The Door is very big
scale, at times it’s quite gory. It’s a physical and mental challenge like you’ll never
have seen before.
We’re pushed to our extremes.
If you thought you’d seen
everything, you haven’t quite!”
Does he have any fears? “The idea of being buried alive is something I wouldn’t like
the idea of,” says Michael. “One of the games in The Door involves a very dark,
narrow tunnel, so that wasn’t great! In terms of fears, I don’t like scorpions, it’s not a
genuine phobia, abut out of all the creepy crawlies in the world, scorpions are the
ones I dislike the most. And there may be challenges involving scorpions!”
In terms of how he found the experience, Michael comments, “It was definitely good
to push myself and I really enjoyed the experience. I did find myself going ‘Why am I
putting myself through this?’ but it did teach me how far I would go and what I would
do. There are things we do in The Door that we definitely wouldn’t normally do.”
“I would say I’m competitive, yes,” says Michael, “and I like to do my best and so I
always get frustrated if I thought I could have done better. So I always try and be the
best I can when I do something and if that means striving to win, then I’ll do that.
“But in the same breath I’m quite willing to admit that if someone’s better or someone
beats me hands down, then that’s fair enough, all credit to them. I will be competitive
during the game but I’m not a bad loser. I’ll take it on the chin.”
Did The Door require teamwork or was it more a case of being out for themselves?
“It’s both,” says Michael. “At the beginning of nearly every challenge we work as a
team and then once you get to a certain part it then becomes dog-eat-dog and then
we are then just doing things for ourselves.
“It’s very clever in that you really need to get on with the people you are with, which is
great and we did, but you need to know that bang, any second, it’s going to be all for
yourselves now. And you’ve really got to think, okay I get on really well with them,
but it’s about me now.”
He continues, “It was very much mind over matter. This show absolutely plays with
your mind, it really tried to psyche us out in all different ways, whether that be
through smells or lighting, all your senses are attacked.
“The Door is very filmic, it’s such a big show, so I think it does push the boundaries in
that sense. It will definitely look different to what viewers have seen before.”
Were there any squeamish moments? “I changed Dean Gaffney’s name to Dean
Gag-ney. In some of the challenges I couldn’t even see Dean and all I could hear
was him retching round the corner somewhere. There are definitely some interesting
moments, shall we say. There’s a lot of screaming.”
Keith Duffy
“The Door is a difficult show to try and explain as the concept is quite unique,” says
Keith. “People kind of love seeing celebrities stuck in a box full of rats, for some
reason, so there’s loads of stuff like that!
“The set is fantastic and it’s very impressive,” he adds.
Was Keith scared about taking part? “I’m pretty easygoing and there’s nothing I
wasn’t looking forward to, but the one thing that got me more than anything was
claustrophobia and being in the dark. That was the thing that really got my heart
racing.”
“Doing The Door was great fun,” continues Keith.
“Everybody has different
limitations as to the extremes they can put their bodies and minds through and, for
some of the celebrities, it didn’t take an awful lot for them to freak out.”
Is Keith competitive? “I’ve trained in sports for most of my life so I’m competitive in
that respect but it wouldn’t break my heart if I didn’t win. I gave it my all and enjoyed
myself but I’m not competitive to the extreme.
I’m just competitive as people
generally are.
“We had to work as a team when we were entering through a new door and the first
part of the challenges and then we become individuals and work against each other.”
He adds, “It kind of plays with your head a little bit. The Door kind of shows you a
really nice side where you’re helping people and working together as a team and
then shows your not so nice side where you’re out for yourself.”
Overall, was it a pleasant experience? “Yeah, absolutely, we had a really good time.
We really got to know each other quite well. Dean Gaffney I have known for years,
so we had fun together. And Jennie, we’re in Coronation Street together, so we’re
good mates. I’d never met the others before but they are all really nice.”
How tough was it? “Some of the challenges are very physical but it was great fun
doing the show. When viewers see the programme on the television, the way it’s lit,
the amount of cameras, it is huge.”
And finally, will there be lots of tension? “There’s plenty of screaming from Dean
Gaffney, and lots of retching!”
Frankie Sandford
How would Frankie describe the show? “I definitely think The Door is going to be
quite funny, to see how everyone reacts to the challenges. It’s definitely on a larger
scale.”
When asked what her fears are, Frankie says, “I’m claustrophobic, so anything I can’t
get out of, that I know I just can’t get out of when I want. And tarantulas, I hate
them.”
“I loved it”, Frankie says when asked to describe the experience. “It’s funny because
I know when I watch it that I’ll look like I hate every second of it but I absolutely loved
it, I wanted it to keep going! It was really cool to push myself to the limit.”
Did she find that the celebrities bonded during the show? “Yeah, it’s really funny. I
feel like I’ve known them all for ages, because we’re all in the same situation and
none of us knew what was going on. You do bond really quickly.”
“We had to work as a team but also individually, it was a bit of both,” Frankie
comments when asked if the celebrities had to work together. “I preferred the parts
where we were working together. It was like we were working with each other then
all of a sudden you’re on your own. It’s really weird going from where you’re helping
each other out to be out for yourself.”
How challenging was the show? “I think the show is more mentally challenging than
physically. You’re having to push yourself as far as you can.”
And any swearing? “Oh my god, I didn’t realise how much I swear until I did this
show. I am disgusted with myself. My parents are going to be so annoyed with me!
“I just hope my grandparents don’t see it. I just kept forgetting the cameras were
there and went into concentration mode, just getting myself through it. So when I’m
scared I obviously swear.”
Dean Gaffney
So, how would Dean describe The Door? “The sets are colossal and they all look
amazing. Behind each door it looked like a movie scene. There was one challenge
where I had to go into a museum and the set just looked amazing. It’ll look amazing
on the television.”
“My fears, as everyone knows, are everything!” Dean says, when asked what he is
scared of. “The show is the most horrific thing I have ever done and probably one of
the most enjoyable. There is one challenge we do where the smell was nothing like I
have ever experienced.”
How did he find the other celebrities he was working with? “It was a great mix of
people. Louisa, I obviously know from EastEnders, she’s a lovely girl. Frankie is a
really nice girl. Michael Underwood is a lovely guy. We shared a dressing room and
he was hilarious.
“And Keith Duffy, who we called The Terminator. And Jennie, who is undoubtedly a
lovely girl. It was a really nice mix of people.”
Jennie McAlpine
Did Jennie have any fears before taking part in The Door? “There wasn’t really
anything in terms of challenges I was scared of before filming the show. I’m not too
squeamish, so I was kind of okay. But it was one of those things where you never
know until you do it!”
But, she adds, “One thing I’m not great with is spatial awareness and getting through
tight spots, and I’m not very good at catching.
“It was a real challenge and I really tried to throw myself into it,” she continues, “and
in some cases, literally throw myself into all sorts of things! I tried to throw myself into
it and I do that with everything. That’s the kind of attitude I treated it with.”
Was it a nice group of people to work with? “It was such a nice team. There were
people I’d not really met before, a couple who I had met before and obviously our
lovely Keith Duffy. He was absolutely brilliant.
“So it was really nice,” she continues. “I came away from it having met some great
people.”
“It’s true,” Jennie says, when asked about the bonding experience. “When you’re
thrown into something like this, it’s very intense and you’re sharing a common
experience.
“We had to work as a team up to a point, and I really enjoyed that part of it. But very
quickly you have to switch to being competitive and you’re on your own.”
What did Jennie make of the challenges? “The challenges were a mix of mental and
physical. Mental in the sense that you have to get into the mindset to do some of the
challenges we had to do, and then physical, but no too physical. I got a lot of
bruises!”
Any squeamish moments? “I can definitely say that there’ll be retching. I actually
made Dean physically sick in one of the challenges,” laughs Jennie. “Something I do
makes him puke.
going.”
There’s definitely some screaming, laughing, every emotion
“It’s huge scale, on the television it’s going to look massive,” Jennie says about the
size of the production. “It’s one of those show’s which is great as a viewer because
you can watch it in the comfort of your own, clean, warm non-smelly house, with your
cup of tea and watch a load of daft people off the telly having to do things that you’re
not having to do.
“And that’s my favourite kind of telly!”
Louisa Lytton
“Before I did the show there was nothing I could kind of pick out and say that’s what
I’m really scared of,” Louisa says, when asked about her fears. “I’d never been in a
situation like that so I didn’t know how I would react.”
But she discover any phobias? “Yeah, definitely, everything I had to do I was like,
“Aarrggh, I’m really scared’. Small spaces, the lot, you know.”
When asked how she coped, Louisa comments, “I think what it is, is that when you’re
in that situation the adrenaline kicks in. You just don’t know how your body is going
to react.
“At one point I am in a tunnel, literally a pitch black tunnel, which is probably the most
scared I was. It was so weird and strange to kind of learn what you are afraid of.”
How physical was taking part in the Door? “I think it was more mentally challenging.
Trying to put yourself in a place where you try and forget what’s actually going on.
You can’t really explain it unless you do it,” she adds.
“It’s different doing it to
watching it!”
“There’ll be loads of screaming and retching, so much,” Louisa says when asked
about any dramas. “Dean started gagging the moment we walked into the first game.
There’ll be lots of bleeping out, I’m sure.”
Was there a lot of team work involved? “In each challenge there was a bit of team
work and then we were out on our own. That’s when I found it difficult when I was
out on my own.”
“Some of the sets are very movie-like,” Louisa concludes.