Reality tv holds a prominent place in the schedule of prime time television. The format provides a consistent display of high ratings across a wide array of sub genres ranging from game shows to lifestyle programs, from docu-soaps and surveillance programs to talent competitions and talk shows. Indeed, it is nearly impossible to group all the different types of reality programs into a basic “reality” genre when each one varies so drastically from another. Yet, no matter what category or sub category they may fall into, the programs of the reality genre remain incredibly successful. So why is this?

Reality is relatable. It provides a sense of the real and allows the audience to watch and become involved in the lives of real people. Viewers are drawn towards “authentic personalities, situations and narratives” (Ouelette & Murray, 2004), they still desire the drama of scripted television but prefer when it is happening to real people who deliver real reactions. Thus the sub-genre of the “docu-soap” (J. Corner 2005) was born. Reality itself stems from the cinematic genre of documentary which utilises observational and/or interview based footage. Docu-soaps blend the observational or interview footage characteristic of the documentary/reality genre with the character and relationship driven dramatic narratives of the television soap opera genre.

One great example of a docu-soap is the UK tv program called “One Born Every Minute”. Based in a UK hospital, the show uses cameras placed around the hospital (including inside patients’ private rooms) to provide viewers with an insight into the workings of the hospital’s maternal ward. It follows the stories of the expecting mothers (and their families) who arrive to deliver their children. While the show itself appears on the surface to be be simply an observational documentary/reality show with the occasional interview, the producers have utilised editing techniques to create relationship driven stories akin to those of the soap genre.

For example, in season 1, episode 4, the audience follow the story of Joy and Kelly, two women who enter the hospital to give birth. However, as the episode progresses, a new midwife at the hospital is introduced as a secondary character. While in a simple observational style program, the midwife would most likely remain a background figure who is present only to deliver the baby, this nurse is given almost a main character status. The audience sees her in the delivery rooms with the patients, in the office talking to her superiors and even in interviews, where she reveals her ‘storyline’ that she is still yet to deliver a baby in this hospital. She becomes a driving force for the narrative of the episode, creating more pressure for both of these women to give birth and also acts as a bond connecting the two story lines as she assists both women in stimulating their birth. The climax of the episode, where both women succeed in delivering their children (albeit through c-section for Joy) is edited in such a manner that the events all appear to happen in a very short amount of time, implying that this new midwife has ‘saved the day’ and accomplished her goals of delivering a baby in her new workplace.

In a similar manner, the inclusion and exclusion of certain footage or interviews through editing creates the relationship driven stories of the two families who enter the ward. For Kelly, very little is shown of her or her husband or discussion of their four previous children. Rather, the program focuses on interviews with the sister about the death of their brother or talk in the delivery room of how the baby helped the family get through the tragic death. Thus, the story is taken almost entirely away from the fact that Kelly is giving birth and revolves instead around this family’s struggle to overcome their grief. Contrasting this, Joy and Fabio’s many days and hours spent in the ward trying to give birth had been edited down significantly, with minor arguments that may have taken place days apart put together to imply that great strain has been placed on their relationship. These two stories, which have been strategically placed together to create conflict or excitement for the viewer, one woman who has had no trouble giving birth to four children, with a new baby coming to save their family, while another woman struggles for days to give birth and may jeopardise her marriage (although at the end it is revealed that the couple are as happy as ever), demonstrate how standard reality/documentary footage can be manipulated to form soap opera style narratives.