The Valleys

The Valleys is a British reality television series based in Cardiff, Wales and broadcast on MTV. The show premiered on September 25, 2012. It follows youngsters from the South Wales Valleys as they move to Cardiff to live out their dreams with the help from their new bosses, AK and Jordan. The show has been axed due to MTV venturing for new ideas and commissioning new shows.

History
Series 1 of The Valleys premiered on September 25, 2012.

It returned for Series 2 on April 30, 2013. Before the series began, it was announced that twin brother Anthony and Jason would be added to the cast. Cast member Aron also announced his departure from the show. The first promo for the second series premiered on April 2, 2013 during a new episode of Geordie Shore. On April 23, a week before Series 2 began, a special episode entitled "The Valleys: Filthy Bits" aired, which featured the best bits from Series 1.

On July 5, 2013, cast member Leeroy confirmed there would be a Series 3 of The Valleys. On January 14, 2014, it was announced that a new cast member would join for the third series of the show. The cast member was revealed to be Jack Watkins, a 24-year-old stripper. The series premiered February 25, 2014 and was filmed in various locations around the UK and Ireland, as "Valleywood Nights" went on tour.

On June 1, 2014 it was announced that The Valleys had been axed by MTV due to the ratings drop, but there hasn't been an official comment from any MTV executives as of yet. "The Valleys has performed exceptionally well for MTV with three successful seasons behind it. However, with our audience always looking for new and engaging content, we're focused on developing new original programme ideas for the MTV schedule such as new smash hit EX on the Beach to sit alongside returning favourites like Geordie Shore.

Cast
The official cast members were revealed on August 7, 2012. They are Aron Williams, Carley Belmonte, Darren Chidgey, Jenna Jonathan, Lateysha Grace, Leeroy Reed, Liam Powell, Natalee Harris and Nicole Morris. The series also features two bosses that will mentor the cast as they try to make it in the city of Cardiff. The bosses being Jordan Reed and Anna "AK" Kelle.

During episode 3 which aired on October 9, 2012 Lateysha Grace left the house after falling out with her fellow cast mates. She later returned in episode 4 when the female cast travelled to Port Talbot to bring her back to Cardiff.

In episode 4, which aired on October 16, 2012 Chidgey and Natalee were kicked out of the house by club "owner" Jordan Reed, after fighting with one another during a night out. Chidgey is later made a conditional offer (during episode 5) of being able to return to the house and series, as long as it's without Natalee. He chose to return to the house, however Natalee still featured in the series but only outside of the house. She remained a cast member for the second series and returned to the house during the second episode.

On March 21, 2013, it was announced that there'd be 2 new additions to the cast. Twins, Anthony and Jason Suminski. On the same day, Aron revealed that he would not be returning for the second series.

On April 30, 2013 during the first episode of Series 2, Anthony and Jason made their first appearances. Leeroy and Natalee did not feature in this episode despite still being cast members. Natalee returned to the house during the second episode on May 7 after apologising to AK for her actions in the first series. During this episode, Carley decided to voluntarily leave the house after constant arguments with Natalee and Liam, but returned in the next episode. Leeroy returned to the series in episode 4, and though he did not permanently move back into the house, he continued to make frequent visits and was also featured in scenes outside of the house until the end of the series. In the final episode of Series 2, Carley voluntarily decided to return to The Valleys due to her continued issues with Chidgey and Natalee. Jordan and AK then revealed which cast members they would like to continue working with in the future, with everyone being asked to return for the next series apart from Liam and Nicole. In December 2013, Leeroy announced on Twitter that he would not be returning for the third series. On January 27, Nicole announced she would be returning for the third series.

On January 14, 2014, it was confirmed that Jack Watkins had joined the cast and on January 27, despite originally being dropped from the show, it was announced that Nicole would be returning for the third series.

Other Appearances
Big Brother
 * Lateysha Grace - Series 17 (2016) - 11th

Critical Reception
Upon its premiere, The Valleys was slated by viewers and Welsh politicians alike. Rhondda MP Chris Bryant called the premise "hideously patronising", saying, "It's all about people getting very drunk and being as deliberately outrageous as they possibly can be. That's not what the Valleys are like." Plaid Cymru leader Leanne Wood branded it "cheap, tacky and over-promoted". Radio presenter Aled Haydn Jones said that the show had left him "slightly speechless".

Welsh singer Charlotte Church was also highly criticised of The Valleys. She tweeted that she felt it would be "exploitative" and "a horrific representation of the country that I love."

Kerry Taylor, MTV's director of television, said, "It's absolutely not about stereotyping... I feel whenever you make a successful reality show, there are always some accusations. But the show is absolutely celebrating these nine young people and their mentors. It's very much about their individual stories."

Controversy
Aside from the criticism over its portrayal of Wales, The Valleys has caused other controversies as well.

Cast member Lateysha Grace was arrested in September 2012 over accusations she assaulted another woman in a nightclub confrontation, but was later acquitted.

On January 9, 2013, the "sexually-suggestive" trailer for the second series of the show aired. Revolving around a house party, it features a girl clutching her bare buttocks, a woman juggling her breasts, two women riding a sheep, girls licking a man's nipples and a woman rubbing foam into another woman's breasts. MTV were criticised for airing the trailer before 7:30pm and the Advertising Standards Authority received several complaints.