Paddy McGuinness Returns to Hosting with a Twist in Tempting Fortune Season 2

Paddy McGuinness is dusting off his hosting shoes for a brand new season of Tempting Fortune.

After a successful first season, viewers can prepare themselves for yet another filled with dramatic twists and turns, conflict and, of course, a whole lot of temptation. It’s in the name, after all.

This time, the series has moved from South Africa and is set in Langkawi in Malaysia, as 12 strangers give up all of their luxuries in the ultimate test of willpower. As they take on a gruelling 18-day trek, they are faced with temptation after temptation that knocks off money from the whopping £300,000 cash prize.

Well, here’s how I see it from a film enthusiast’s perspective: In this thrilling journey, I, as a viewer, find myself following the contestants under the expert guidance of Paddy McGuinness. He’s our charismatic tour guide, leading us through each checkpoint and tempting us with tantalizing challenges along the way.

After several days of hiking through the jungle, it might become quite enticing to take a swim, sans clothing, in that body of water.

It’s been almost two years since Tempting Fortune was first on Channel 4, with just six episodes filled with with secrecy, backstabbing and betrayal, and with it being so highly lauded, viewers will be keen to see if season 2 matches up.

“We went to a different part of the world this time,” McGuinness explained. “The first series was in South Africa, which brought its own challenges for the people taking part. And rather than the next lot of people sort of thinking they know what to expect, it’s totally flipped it on its head and filmed in Langkawi.

In a new environment, they faced unique challenges as well. Once the initial series gained traction and people fully embraced it, particularly on social media discussing various characters and their actions – this second group took things to another notch!

Now in season 2, McGuinness is more involved as he gets to interact with the contestants more than before, casting an eye over whether or not they will succumb to the temptations.

Nowadays, every single channel has a reality TV show. Millions were glued to The Traitors, and plenty have loved the likes of The Mole and The Trust: A Game of Greed. While each differ with their own edge, comparisons are inevitably drawn, but for McGuinness, there is something that sets apart Tempting Fortune from the rest.

“You can find similarities in all kinds of different shows, but that’s what people like. Certain things work and certain things don’t work, but I think with Tempting Fortune, it’s more about real-life decisions we’ve all made.”

He continued: “We’re not talking about bloody life and death decisions, but we’re talking things like after Christmas and you feel a bit peckish, and you’re trying to get in shape in January like everyone else does. You go, ‘Shall I have that biscuit?’ It’s all those normal things in life that come out on this show.”

McGuinness is no stranger to presenting, with the TV star seen recently on screens in Top Gear before the BBC rested the series for the foreseeable future.

Interestingly, it’s Top Gear that McGuinness likens the most to Tempting Fortune, even though the shows couldn’t be further apart in their formats.

But having presented the likes of Take Me Out, A Question of Sport and a flurry of others, McGuinness feels as though he can “slot into work on any show”.

He explained: “I’ve done shiny floor entertainment shows, I’ve done adventure shows like this, I’ve done quiz shows, I’ve done pretty much everything.

“I think the show that was more similar to Tempting Fortune with the filming schedule was probably Top Gear.”

Is it true that Paddy McGuinness, who has been hosting numerous TV shows including a reality one currently, does not consider himself a fan of such shows at the present time? That seems to be what he’s saying.

“Weirdly, I’m one of them people who still hasn’t seen The Traitors,” he admitted. “I know exactly what it is and I know what it’s about but I’ve never seen a single episode, and I must watch it because I want to but it’s a bit like when everyone was talking about things like Breaking Bad or Game of Thrones and you feel as though you’re far beyond the curve.”

McGuinness shared his thoughts about Big Brother: “I’ve recently started watching it again, and I must say it still holds a special place in my heart. In its early seasons, it was the epitome of reality TV, revolutionizing the TV landscape.

McGuinness enjoys re-watching Big Brother and thinks that during its initial seasons, it represented the best of reality television, significantly altering the way TV shows are made.

In the past, I found reality TV to be the most appealing type because it was new and unique to me. However, shows such as Love Island – there’s no specific reason; I simply don’t find myself drawn to them.

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But he’ll certainly be tuning into Tempting Fortune as it airs tonight on Channel 4, with plenty of fans waiting in anticipation to see if it lives up to the entertainment season 1 provided.

While there are weeks to go before the end is in sight and season 3 is yet to be announced, McGuinness still has a few ideas as to where it could go next.

“I think you could go totally different, and do it somewhere the exact opposite of where we’ve been, like Norway or something,” McGuinness said.

However, I believe there’s an appeal to the depiction of sunshine on television and challenging tasks, making them seem appealing. This mood is not easily replicated but can be found in various places. Interestingly, it has proven effective in Langkawi as well.

“Let’s do another one here with just different challenges and everything else. Who knows?”

2025-03-16 12:41

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