Sky admits new show is simply 'tacky TV'

Reality TV is about to plunge to new and more depraved depths. Viewers have only to wait until 10pm on Thursday for their first fix of so-called Infidelity TV after Rupert Mudoch's Sky One secured the rights to the American show Temptation Island last night.

Reality TV is about to plunge to new and more depraved depths. Viewers have only to wait until 10pm on Thursday for their first fix of so-called Infidelity TV after Rupert Mudoch's Sky One secured the rights to the American show Temptation Island last night.

In what looks to be a deliberate attempt by Sky One to highjack the launch of Channel Four's new digital entertainment channel E4, the show's UK premiere will clash directly with E4's launch night, sparking a fierce ratings battle.

Viewers will see four couples being flown to a Caribbean island where they will face 26 of the most attractive people they are ever likely to meet, including Miss Georgia 2000, a former Playboy model and a masseuse.

The four men go to one side of the island with the single women and the women stay with the single men in what will be the ultimate test of their commitment to their partners.

"We beat off stiff competition from the BBC and Channel 5 to get this show, which gives you a good measure of the kind of money we were prepared to pay for it," said a Sky One spokesman. "It's easy to say this is cheap, titillating and tacky TV, and I'd be the last to deny any of those allegations, but it appeals to lots of viewers."

Temptation Island's opening night in America, broadcast by Fox TV, attracted 16 million viewers. But church and family groups have made a barrage of complaints.