It is a beauty contest complete with a swimsuit round. But all the contestants in the latest reality format to sweep ratings-hungry broadcasters have a disability.
Contestants must display a “handicap visible to the eye” in
Miss Ability, a Dutch show that became the surprise hit of 2006 in the Netherlands.
Twelve women, including amputees and wheelchair-bound contestants, parade in nightgowns and bathing suits.
They star in short films demonstrating how they have overcome severe disabilities before submitting to a viewer vote.
The Netherlands was the breeding ground for Big Brother. Now the rights to remake Miss Ability have been snapped up in Britain, France, Germany and the US.
TimesonLine
