Despite the title, this isn’t a show about a mother screaming at her teenager to clear the stack of mugs and plates building up in their room. In fact, it’s something much more silly than that – each week, a celebrity contestant is presented with four people of the same name, and a house. They’re tasked with guessing who the house belongs, based on a guided tour from each of the four potential owners, where they declare “This is My House.”
It may as well be called This is a Ridiculous Show, to be honest, and we admit that us TV connoisseurs (read: snobs) at Must did a small eye roll when we read the premise. Do we really need another reality show, and more importantly, do we really need this one? Well, dear readers, we are here to correct ourselves and say yes, we do need this show. It’s stupid and fun and exactly what we need on a mid-week evening.
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First of all, the level of lying in this show is hilarious. As the contestants guide the B List celeb (or C List) around their (or someone else’s) house, they wax lyrical about the story behind a piece of art, or how their non-existent pet loves that one particular spot on the sofa, making up ridiculous stories on the spot to try and convince them that this is, in fact, their house. And it’s not just pride they take home if they’re successful – there’s £1,000 up for grabs. Enough to get one of the items they’ve lied about owning, then. And the contestants they pick are brilliant – seriously, where do they find these people? – and unafraid to make a tit of themselves on national telly in a meaningless reality guessing game.
Presented by Stacey Dooley, the show feels way higher stakes than it actually is, and we won’t blame you if you sit on the sofa declaring ‘It’s definitely the third Gemma’s house,” and saying things like “the first Rob would never own a kitchen aid,” with full confidence. Because this is proper, light-hearted entertainment. Just what the doctor ordered.
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And even a high-brow reviewer can’t resist its charm, it seems, with The Guardian’s Joel Golby saying: “I feel strange saying this, but: This Is My House is … pretty great. The base game underpinning the show taps into the visceral joy of po-faced adult board-game deceit.” But it seems he may be alone in his thought. The Telegraph’s Anita Singh thinks it’s “a fun idea for an entertainment show,” but says “there is a flaw, and I’m not talking about Dooley, a Marmite character with whom you may or may not want to spend an hour of your evening.” She thinks the answer is too obvious.
First shown March 2021. You can watch the trailer by pressing play on the show image, or by clicking here.
