Head-to-head battle for reality TV pub couples

Two couples are being given three weeks each to impress locals enough to let them run the pub for a year in a new reality TV show set to air in the Spring.

Broadcast company TwoFour has developed the show, under the working title of Nobody's Inn, in response to the high number of rural pub closures.

The couples will pit their wits against each other to prove they've got what it takes to turn a languishing local into a profitable pub inside three weeks. The identity of the pub has been kept under wraps to ensure the competition is fair.

The winners, as chosen by a panel of industry experts and more importantly by the locals, will get to run the pub for a whole year. The five one-hour shows are set to air on ITV daytime television during the spring.

'Many of us fantasise about escaping from the rat race, giving it all up to run a pub somewhere,' said ITV controller of off-peak programming Steven Andrew.

'The reality is a far cry from that fantasy. The series explores not just what it takes to be successful in this very competitive and stressful world but rewards the winners with their own pub.'

Couples will receive basic training and advice from a trade expert to help them get started.

In addition, they will be provided with copies of the MA to help generate ideas to make the pub a roaring success.

'Once those doors are open, it will be down to each couple to make it a success,' said the producer Simon Walton. 'This is a show that offers the chance of a total life change for someone who has ideas and energy but lacks the means - it will be like winning a fast-tracked passport into the pub industry.'