13/01/2012 12:38 | By Lorna Cooper, editor, MSN TV

ITV fury over Take Me Out scandals

ITV1's popular dating series Take Me Out has been embroiled in unsavoury headlines - and bosses aren't pleased.

Take Me Out logo (© ITV)

ITV

Take Me Out logo

The Take Me Out fallout continues. Following unsavoury headlines in which two contestants were previously escorts in the sex business, ITV is said to be furious.

The commercial broadcaster is apparently insistent that Talkback Thames, the independent production company that makes Take Me Out, utilise more rigorous selection processes in the future.

According to the Daily Mirror, ITV bosses deem the appearance of convicted criminals and ex-prostitutes on the show as "unacceptable".

Last week, over 5 million viewers saw contestant Aaron Withers win a date with Wen-Jing Mo on the popular show hosted by Paddy McGuinness.

According to the Daily Mirror, ITV will edit out footage of Wen and Aaron's date in Cyprus - previously scheduled to air this Saturday - after it emerged he had worked as a £50-an-hour male escort. In addition, the 32-year-old, originally from Frome in Somerset, pleaded guilty to an assault charge on a young woman last year.

However, the Daily Mirror also reported a further controversy; 28-year-old Wen-Jing Mo was a £200 per hour hooker.

This isn't the first time controversy has hit a TV show based on a contestant's past. In 2011, TV bosses were embarrassed when it emerged that Nathan Hageman, the first winner of Simon Cowell's £1 million game show Red Or Black?, had a violent past.

TV bosses then axed three more contestants after finding "inconsistencies" during a background check and promised to bring in tighter checks on criminal convictions.

But Aaron Withers slipped through the net and Wen-Jing Mo didn't reveal details about her past because, she said, she wanted to find romance on the show.

Take Me Out's Wen-Jing Mo (© ITV)

ITV

Take Me Out's Wen-Jing Mo

Speaking exclusively to the Daily Mirror, Wen stated: "I would definitely not have slept with him if I'd known he had punched a woman." She added that he'd made a fool of her.

An ITV spokesman said: "We have asked talkbackThames to carry out an immediate review of their procedures on this show."

A senior executive at ITV is quoted as saying: "This whole incident has been extremely embarrassing."

A talkbackThames spokeswoman said: "During the application process we ask contestants to declare any convictions, and background checks are carried out on each individual, in line with industry practice. Aaron's criminal record did not come to light. We will be reviewing procedures going forward."

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43Comments
Jack Woodford (21st Cent. Observer)
15/01/2012 10:03
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I had the misfortune to tune and watch this piece of rubbish last night...where do all these silly shrieking girls come from?...oh of course from any housing estate, high street, shopping mall etc etc...what a lot of empty headed, vacuous, not particularly pretty totty...and the men are not much better..the UK just descends ever more quickly with junk like this on the TV...and where the hell did they ever dig this slimeball Mc Guiness from?  I remember he himself got fixed up with some glamour puss last year...guess with the vast sums of money these people earn from the TV  companies they are shacked up in some 15 room bedroom mansion, with a couple of porsches in the garage....with stuff like this on the TV, my recommendation is emigrate.....

Jacqui Dicks (Jax31)
14/01/2012 09:45
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@Becki Gresham.  You're totally missing the fact that these two people lied to get on the show. It's not the hooker that bothers me at all. Like you said, it's up to them as it's their lives. Thing is, how many of those men would have refused to go out with her because of that? And the bloke....well, anyone who its their partner is a dispicable excuse of a human being, whether they're male or female. How many would want to go out with him if they knew the truth? I sure wouldn't.

 

@Carl Cooper  By the sounds of it, your criminal record is very different to these two's pasts. How would you feel if, say, your sister went out with someone who was known to have beaten his previous partner?  Someone like you, I would applaud.

becki gresham
14/01/2012 06:21
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well done carl. im sorry people shudnt watch it if they dont like it like i sed in older post people are crudes and prudes. get over ya selfs like i sed u ither love it or hate it. u dont have to watch it plus i think if u dont like it and dont watch it and u see it in the papers some paper are slander
Carl Cooper
14/01/2012 06:11
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I for one am fed up of the do-gooder brigade and morality police who indulge themselves in causing misery to all and sundry. I have a criminal record from an incident that wasn't my doing and it was 30 yrs ago. Does that make me a bad person or an immoral one? NO, I made a mistake and paid the fine, It's about time these so-called moralists got off their high horse and gave people a second chance instead of pointing fingers at things that the contestants would probably rather forget. I got done for defending myself but the thief who I caught was let off scot free, where were the morality police when I was in court? Nowhere, so lighten up and just get on with a bit of fun harming nobody.
Theresa Grundy (terrimg)
14/01/2012 02:42
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IT IS A STUPID SHOW ANYWAY AND EVEN THOUGH I WATCH SOME OF THE REALITY SHOWS THIS IS AMONG THE ONES I WOULD NOT MISS

 

Steve Ash (PLyle)
14/01/2012 02:34
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After watching this last weekend, I saw the 'nugget' of information that was offered about Wen. Paddy McGuinness pointed out that Wen stated she wanted to date/marry a man who earns ten times what she does.
If she earns £200 an hour as a hooker, then she wants to marry someone that earns £2000 an hour? Shame, she settled for someone that only earned a quarter of her wage.
Gold digger springs to mind.
mark govier
14/01/2012 02:16
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Can't see what the problem is.  Its trash tv - people selling themselves for $, or the chance to make some. With free publicity like this, the show may very well increase the number of viewers. 
Gary Ferris (jaffacake66)
14/01/2012 01:31
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Another Excuse for CATTLE SHOW sorry ladies.
lara-jane mcpherson (scottishlass87)
14/01/2012 01:29
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oh well perfect couple lol . i think there should be 30 men n 1 women series see how that goes lol
cindy conner
13/01/2012 23:12
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He is a woman beater, and she a hooker, who needs that kind of trash on the telly?  Even Frankie Cozz, should not have been paid 30 thousand to be on BB.

 

becki gresham
13/01/2012 22:28
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does it matter in this day and age people seem more o f a prude i like the show even if it has scandal wont stop me watching it. its like marmite u either love it or hate it and people tht complain well there no words to describe just get on with it and dont watch it. every one has a past if its bad or good people make mistakes so dont get me wrong if thts wot they wanna do let them its no one elses buisness.
alan crossley (ALACROSS)
13/01/2012 21:32
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all this type of show are rubbish, if you watch them you get what you deserve, if the ratings went down enough itv would stop showing them
kevin swain (malcheeser)
13/01/2012 21:12
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This is low-life TV, so it attracts lowlife participants. What do you expect ?
Billy . (born and bred brit)
13/01/2012 21:04
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Able to comment on this tripe yet still banned from making comments on political issues 

who are you protecting 
MSN................Angry

rant over 
Jog x (jogs)
13/01/2012 20:46
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Mr. Jogga Singh Teidy says...

 

Ex convicts are to be excluded indefinitely from ALL public life?  Relevant to their conviction, yes.

 

As for sex issue mentioned here, what is the difference between serial dates and having sexual intercourse and the prostitutes described?

 

Serial dating is just sliver away from prostition surely. except in prostitution the parties have streamlined the process.

 

The fact it attracts the contestants complained of, shows only very sexually experienced have the gaul to go on what is deemded to be a respectible activity, called dating, and normally can mean to be playing the field...having sexual intercourse, then acting all coy for the next liason!

 

So given this cultural stance on opposite sex relationship which is everywhere generally open or closed, then I don't know what the TV bosses are complaining about?  IT IS THE NORM!

 

AS FOR DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, MANY CONVICTION ARE A MATTER OF POLICY TO CONVICT?! AND ARE FALSE.

 

EVEN IF TRUE, DOES THIS MEAN MEN AND WOMEN ARE BARRED BY GOVERNMENT FROM FORMING ANY FUTURE RELATIONSHIPS?

 

THE SPOKES WOMAN IS ER..DAFT?

 

I INVITE THE TV FOLKS TO FIND HOLES IN MY ARGUMENTS HERE!

 

OF COURSE IT IS A MATTER OF ABUSE AND DISCRIMINATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS BY THE TV COMPANY HERE TO BARR THOSE WHO HAVE SERVED THEIR SENTANCE OR HAVE SEVERED DIFFICULT DOMESTIC RELATIONSHIPS, IN WHICH VIOLENCE MAY  OR MAY NOT BE TRUE!

 

THE WOMAN CONTESTANT HERE HAD SEX? IF SO, THEN HOW IS THAT DIFFERENT TO A PROSTITUTE HAVING SEX AND MOVING ONTO THE NEXT PERSON?  SEXUAL EXCHANGE WITHOUT COMMITMENT HAS HAPPENED, IS THAT NOT SAME AS PROSTITION?

 

Of course I am being a devil's advocate here!

Jools Thomas (Design4Life)
13/01/2012 20:45
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The biggest sin is Paddy McGuiness the programme makers and viewers of such tripe yuch!
Stephanie adams
13/01/2012 20:12
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I think what people need to realise is that this was their past people can change! So what if they used to be escorts and hookers that was their past! They could have been going through a bad time in life and now they have turned their lives around to make it more positive. I do agree however that a violence crime against a woman which was only last year is a bit dodgy to be putting on the show as it is a crime against another person. That act of crime is unforgivable! 
Coral (non politacal)
13/01/2012 20:03
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Isnt it time we the public really viewed family entertainment instead of having to put up with approx thirty common girls why would they apply for such a programme if they were any where decent, it must be said that anyone applying for to go on this programme are really desperate how many decent chaps could be taken in with this crowd, why not scrap the whole of the programme altogether and lets have some excellent entertainment as we used to have only a few years ago.
MrMagic
13/01/2012 18:55
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If you want to see a load of tarts who'd put out for the price of a drink and a taxi fare, film any nightclub in EssexOpen-mouthed
Someone
13/01/2012 18:36
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The whole show is awful and just shows how standards in general have fallen as there is no top flight entertainment on a Saturday night anymore we just have these dreadful so called reality shows.
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