The Summit

The one where Ben Shephard goes up a hill. A group of novice climbers joins him. They are to work as a team to reach the 2600m peak of Mount Head in New Zealand, within a limit of 14 days.

According to a press preview, the show tests strength, resilience and strategy as the team go up in the world, and try to win a theoretical £200,000 prize, a share of which they each carry along the trek. There's treacherous terrain to navigate, glacial lakes to cross, and dangerous ravines to bridge. From time to time, the party reaches "base camps", where the group is required to vote off the climber seen as the weakest.

And there's a menacing black helicopter dogging their progress; "The Mountain's Keeper" tries to ratchet up the pressure with ruthless challenges. Although players may be eliminated, their cash is not - and someone's got to carry it up to the top.

Every show needs a little bit of stunt casting; among those hoping to go the distance were pageant coach Afton, the daughter of wellness influencer Gillian McKeith; and Reverend Warren, better known as Ace from ITV's original series of Gladiators. Ben Shephard is quoted as saying, "There are so many different characters. And they all have their own personal summit they want to reach."

Another larger-than-life character was Dockers, a thirtysomething builder and labourer from Hull. A charitable viewer could describe The Summit as a parable for our times, a bromance between Dockers and his childhood hero Warren, teaching the younger man about humility and self-sacrifice.

A less charitable viewer could describe the show as people being pushed to the edge of their physical limit, an exercise in peer pressure, and facile "moral dilemmas" dropped into their lap by someone in a helicopter.

Throughout, we felt that the programme was artificial, manufactured, not really genuine. Sure, the exertions of the contestants were honest, and everything shown on screen certainly happened. But the situation they were in - the environment, the forced choices, even the roundabout route - all came across as insincere. Even the "big prize" couldn't be won in total - although £200,000 was on offer, the producers insisted that four players be eliminated on the route, lowering the potential maximum to £140,000.

Other international versions have a final twist: the contestants who didn't make the finish sit in judgement on the few who did. The prize money will be divided between those who made the top, but how much money each person gets is decided by those who were thrown or fell off the mountain. The producers didn't make us suffer this gratuitous twist, the show came to its natural conclusion with the three winners on top of the mountain. Perhaps it would have undercut the final episode's emotional climax.

Overnight viewing figures were low, though no lower than usual for Tuesday evenings. We don't expect a second series.

Coleen, Dockers, and Drew, who split a prize of £114,280 equally.

According to the press release announcing the show, The Summit was originally created by Endemol Shine Australia and 9Network. The release said, "It premiered in May 2023 and has quickly become Banijay Entertainment's next adventure reality hit, now globally active in seven markets including recent commissions across Europe and the US, and two successful series in Australia." The release didn't point out that Australia is the only territory where The Summit has been any sort of hit.

Went out at 9pm on Tuesday and Wednesday nights for the first two weeks, then just on Tuesday nights for another four weeks. This was planned from the start by ITV, and was not a reaction to low viewing figures.

Weaver's Week review