My Man Can (lost unaired episodes of cancelled ITV adaptation of German game show; 2012-2013)

Logo for the show.

Status: Lost

My Man Can was an unaired ITV game show. Produced by SevenOne International and hosted by Melanie Sykes and Mark Wright, it was an adaptation of the German show Mein Mann kann. In it, women wager bets that their male partner can fulfil challenges within the allotted time limit, with a £50,000 jackpot on the line. Alas, the show was cancelled in 2013, but the reasons behind ITV's decision have been disputed.

Background

In February 2012, it was announced that ITV was trialling a British adaptation of Mein Mann kann. In the original show, four women wager bets that their male partners can perform a difficult task, such as eating the most chilli peppers or going through an obstacle course while wearing high heels. The men are placed in a soundproof booth during the women's' deliberations; thus, they are always put on the spot when completing challenges and cannot influence their partners' gambling choices. Once three couples lose all their chips, the sole remaining partnership stands in line to win €50,000. Commissioned in 2010, Mein Mann kann's success in its home country prompted SevenOne International to distribute international television rights across Europe and in China, where adaptations have received similar levels of popularity.

Melanie Sykes and Mark Wright were selected as the ITV show's presenters. Since reporting for Channel 4's The Big Breakfast in 1997, Sykes has featured in several presenting roles for chat shows and game shows, like Today with Des and Mel and The Vault. Meanwhile, Wright experienced a journeyman semi-professional football career, primarily playing as a defender for clubs like Thurrock and Bishop's Stortford. He later achieved fame by starring in the ITV reality show The Only Way is Essex, before branching off by hosting Take Me Out: The Gossip. His presenting abilities caught ITV's attention, leading him to be confirmed as My Man Can's second presenter. Likely because of her more extensive hosting experience, Sykes was considered the show's main host, while Wright presented the games.

A non-broadcast pilot was reportedly filmed in February 2012, in Cologne, Germany. The pilot was a success; in April 2012, SevenOne Studios announced that ITV had officially commissioned a series, with plans to allocate it a primetime ITV1 slot in 2013. ITV Studios also won the rights to create possible Australian and French adaptations too. In a statement, then-ITV Director of Comedy and Entertainment Elaine Bedell stated the broadcaster aimed to capitalise on the format's European popularity, while adding "a uniquely British spin on it." Six 75-minute episodes were reportedly commissioned. ITV and SRO Audiences swiftly began selecting contestants for the show, offering a £50,000 cash prize. The auditions began in July 2012, with filming taking place at in September that same year. Filming occurred at Fountain Studios in Wembley, which had also housed such programmes as The X Factor and The British Comedy Awards prior to its closure in 2016.

The Show

Among those in attendance during an episode's filming included ITV executives and Brig Bother of Bother's Bar. Sykes and Wright retained their respective positions, with John Sachs reportedly providing voiceover work. Brig Bother provided the most substantial analysis of the show's format. It consisted of six games, where the women gambled up to four medallions for each challenge. In each case, the women bid that their partner could fulfil the challenge in x amount of time. Game 1 involved a wrecking ball, with the men tasked to knock over the top of twelve numbered towers in sequential order. The second was a speed-eating challenge featuring the likes of sheep brains and snails. Game 3 put the men's footballing abilities to the test, as they needed to kick a set of footballs through flaming hoops. Game 4 was a quickfire general knowledge game nicknamed the "Dude Diploma". The questions were based on stereotypical "masculine" hobbies.

Before Game 5, the number of medallions won was counted up, with the lowest-scoring couple being automatically eliminated. In the All-Play game, the three men must hold onto a bar for as long as possible. The first loser is subsequently removed from the final game, while the winner gets to decide who participates in the Grand Final. In it, the participant has up to 60 seconds to throw ten balls into an ever-narrowing hole, approximately 20 feet away from them. Victory guarantees him and his partner £50,000, while failure means the other couple gain the cash prize. Brig Bother generally praised Sykes and Wright's hosting abilities, though did criticise the latter's difficult time as the quizmaster which necessitated three restarts of Game 4. Their main criticism stemmed from the confusing benchmark targets and the bid process. Often, the women and Sykes struggled to determine what the current bid was. This, combined with two hours spent on the first two games alone, meant the episode's recording took four and a half hours.

Cancellation

My Man Can was originally set to air sometime in 2013. However, a June 2013 article by The Sun confirmed that the show had been scrapped for quality reasons. Brig Bother claimed that the series' premature cancellation was surprising, though remarked that the long filming hours - plus the fact up to half the audience left before its conclusion - may have generated terminal problems in the editing phase. But it appeared their concerns over the overly complex format were universally reciprocated by ITV executives. According to a source for The Sun, the executives "winced" at the poor gameplay. While they praised Sykes and Wright's combined hosting duties, the executives also believed the format undermined them. Thus, it joined the list of filmed yet unaired ITV programmes, like Man Versus Beast and Press-Ganged.

However, Sykes later disputed the official narrative and claimed the show's cancellation was because of more dubious factors. In November 2021, Sykes was officially diagnosed as autistic. In an interview conducted with The Guardian in April 2023, Sykes discussed how the mainstream television industry had routinely undermined her. This included her struggles coping with challenges brought upon by undiagnosed autism to being routinely "thrown under the bus" for various incidents during her decades-long career. One such example, she recalled, was that My Man Can was actually cancelled for violating strict gambling regulations. She was subsequently furious when upon discovering ITV sources had blamed her and Wright for the show's failure. To date, the reasons behind My Man Can's shelving remain disputed.

Availability

Sources conflict on the number of episodes filmed. The Sun and Digital Spy state the programme was cancelled following a poorly received pilot. However, Bother's Bar and UKGameshows insist a full series was filmed. Based on assessing the reports, it can be deduced that a non-broadcast pilot and at least one episode were taped. Regardless of the true reasons behind My Man Can's cancellation, be it for quality reasons or to avoid violating gambling regulations, it is very unlikely the show will be publicly released in any capacity.

See Also

• Man Versus Beast (lost unaired ITV adaptation of Fox reality show; 2003)
• Press-Ganged (lost unaired episodes of ITV reality series; 2004-2006)