BBC Three TV review: Just One Night
Helen Archer | On 25, Sep 2020
This high concept, almost anti-dating show, posits the question of whether you’d leave your partner after spending ‘just one night’ with the person of your dreams, almost as though the Ashley Madison dating website has come to life. Bonnie and Stevie have been together for four years, having met on Tinder. Bonnie wants them to move in together, but Stevie’s not so sure.
Helpfully, BBC Three set them both up with their ultimate ‘type’ (for Stevie, this means a blonde with big boobs). Shannon and Moses are selected to go on a date with the couple – separately, though in the same restaurant, metres from each other – to see if they can’t tempt them away from their partner.
Shannon’s a veritable honey-trap, pretty much throwing herself at Stevie, while Moses is just the tonic Bonnie seems to need, trying to big her up and give her some helpful advice about her own worth and what kind of behaviour she should or shouldn’t settle for.
When the pilot of this aired, we weren’t entirely convinced the show would attract many participants. The premise is a make-or-break relationship test – couples have to decide whether to stick (with their current partner) or twist (with the temptation the producers have put in their way).
It’s more last dates than first dates, and, ideally, a recipe for some voyeuristic drama. The couples who do take part are generally in solid, committed relationships, although they all have small issues they feel need ironing out. There are those who are trying to survive long-distance, and others with clear jealousy and trust problems. Others are just trying to figure out whether their relationships have run their course, and whether they should move in together or cut their losses and split before getting any deeper. Without wanting to spoil the programme, while some of the couples do decide to stay together, and are strengthened by the experience, others display real red flags – and there’s at least one very lucky escape. On the whole, it’s more heartwarming than it is heartbreaking, and one episode in particular reduced this particular reviewer to tears. Young love, eh?
Just One Night is available on BBC iPlayer until July 2022
This short review was originally published as part of a fortnightly BBC Three reviews column.