REALITY TV show The Valleys, which aired on MTV for the first time on Tuesday night, got the cold shoulder from Argus readers.

The six-week show features Tredegar 19-year-old Aron Williams, a student and leisure centre assistant and Natalee Harris, a 23-yearold call centre supervisor from Pontypool, who is due to make her on-screen debut next week.

Hannah Berney, 21, from Chepstow who was on BBC’s The Voice last year tweeted: “Not impressed. I felt the idea of escaping (to Cardiff) a little odd as I have family in Ponty, this is not a true representation of the Valleys.”

Joe Davies, 25, from Pontllanfraith: “Apart from the gay guy the rest of them are a bunch of attention seekers lookin to make a name for themselves and trying to outdo the cast of Geordie Shore. I did enjoy watchin the programme but think that Carley and Lateysha are giving Valleys girls a bad name.”

Lucy Hemms, 18, from Pontllanfraith said: “I decided not to (watch it) because I expected it to be embarrassing.”

COMMENT: It’s only a TV show

THERE has been much wailing and gnashing of teeth in South Wales following the screening of a new TV “reality” show.

The Valleys is supposed to be a Welsh version of programmes such as The Only Way Is Essex and Geordie Shore.

The MTV show pitches nine young people from the South Wales valleys into a house in Cardiff where they can sample the “bright lights” of the capital.

The show has come in for criticism from a wide spectrum of the Welsh great and good – from Plaid Cymru leader Leanne Wood to Charlotte Church.

The Valleys has been called tacky, outrageous, disgusting and grubby.

All the descriptions are accurate. But this is not a documentary, nor is it “reality” television.

It is part of a genre known as “scripted reality”. In other words, those taking part are a cast of people who want to be famous.

We have three messages for those providing outraged soundbites to the media about the programme.

Firstly, this is a programme on a minority channel that very few people will watch.

Secondly, The Valleys is not a gritty depiction of life in modern-day South Wales. It is meant to be entertainment (though watching it would not be our idea of being entertained).

Finally, and most importantly, it is really not worth worrying about.