Producers have admitted to The Daily Telegraph that they had absolutely no plans to expand The Bachelor to The Bachelorette, but after seeing the turmoil that was Season Two they had a change or heart and felt a new wave of responsibility.
“We all felt a little responsible and we wanted to fix it,” executive producer Stephen Tate told the publication of their decision. “We felt like she’d been cheated out of the love we had promised.”
As you might recall, Sam didn’t jump at the chance to get her heart smushed all over again and at the time of approach said she “couldn’t think of anything worse than being The Bachelorette“.
But the idea was already full steam ahead by then, so producers had to look elsewhere. Previous The Bachelor contestants and celebrities were considered to fill the position, but no one fit the bill in the way they had hoped.
With a deadline looming, production approached Sam once more in a last-ditch effort, and, thanks to a whole lot of soul searching on her behalf since the initial invite, she obliged.
Pressure was clearly on for producers to deliver, and Stephen admits they sent out spotters to each capital city for casting. “They literally went to venues to look for people, as well as going by word of mouth, talking to people to find the most eligible Australian men,” he explained.
Photo: The Bachelor
Production also accepted applications from the public, but several of the final 14 were found through the scouting process, including 35-year-old financial consultant Alex.
“I was approached in the street with a buddy and asked if we’d be interested. He had a fiancé and I was single, so it made sense to put my name down,” he said.
The producers had guidelines of sorts to follow from Australia’s first-ever The Bachelorette, with Sam saying, “I put together an email before they did the scout around and had to really think about my ‘type’.”
She continued, “But [during the show] I realised that my type sucks and so I had to break the cycle and find someone who isn’t my traditional type. The list that I put together isn’t what the guys I ended up connecting with followed exactly.”
September 23, Channel 10, you guys. Pop it in your calendar, set a reminder. This is one you won’t want to miss.
[Via The Daily Telegraph]
