Courtney Act thinks now is the right time for a bisexual dating show.
The 36-year-old Australian drag queen is hosting ‘The Bi Life’, the UK’s first bisexual dating show, and thinks it took so long to see a bisexual programme on TV because "people needed a bit of proof" that the world was "ready" for it.
She said: "People needed a bit of proof that the world was ready and social media is really cool because it’s this levelling platform where we have metrics that show us how many people are into different things and we can see that queer culture is on the rise. I think we’ve got the balance right. It’s easy to make a reality show that’s sensational but it’s more challenging to make a reality show that’s got a lot of heart and integrity and still keeps you enthralled and makes you want to keep watching."
Courtney – whose real name is Shane Jenek – loves how there is no "competition element" on ‘The Bi Life’.
She added to Digital Spy: "The thing that I love with this show is that there’s no competition element, no-one is competing for money. You’re not there to convince people of anything other than the truth … On ‘Love Island’ you’re trying to win the prize money and stay together; on ‘The Bi Life’, the winner is the one that finds love. A few of them are still together, there’s a few success stories in the show, which is exciting.
"I think queer dating shows, we see some queer themes on ‘First Dates’ and shows like that but I think this is so cool that it’s not a show that’s about people reacting to straight people or gay people. It’s a little hermetically-sealed microcosm of bisexual people on a dating adventure through Barcelona."