Faking It (2000-)
Entertaining transformational battles against the odds. Intrepid volunteers are plucked from their natural habitat and given just four weeks to master a skill well enough to fool a panel of expert judges.
Faking It: All episodes All Seasons
Faking It was an early British reality TV show. Its challenge was based on Shaw's Pygmalion: experts get a month to train a member of the public to the point where a panel of their peers would be unable to pick them from a group as an imposter. Often there might be a loose connection between the existing and new occupation of the candidate: "Sheep sheerer to hairdresser" or "Show girl to show jumper", for example. The trainee would live with the experts for the month and would usually undergo a makeover as well as training by actors. After their test - they would return home - either reluctantly or gratefully. [more inside]