UK version of hit MTV fake dating show Catfish is in the works

Fans of the MTV fake online dating documentary series Catfish will be getting some brand new episodes from the other side of the Atlantic as a British version of the show is underway.

The hit USA series – which sees hosts Nev Schulman and Max Joseph track down hopeless romantics’ online lovers to discover whether or not they are real – is to receive a UK remake.

Producers have reportedly been scouring the UK to find daters who have grown suspicious of the validity of their online love matches.

And according to reports, researchers have already found an army of troubled romantics that could make for cases for the documentary team to investigate.

A TV source told The Sun: “There are Catfish stories all over the world and MTV are so excited to bring it to the UK.

“They are already finding some incredible, mysterious online dating stories that need to be told.”

Catfish: The TV show – which launched in 2012 – sees 35-year-old documentary maker Nev and 38-year-old director Max meet individuals across the USA who have fallen in love online – only to grow suspicious when the target of their affections refuse to meet in real life.

Episodes then show Nev and Max tracking down the romantic interest to discover if they are real, or frauds.

The TV show is a spin-off of a documentary film in which Nev himself tracked down someone he fell for over social media – only to discover she was not who he originally thought she was, and was instead a married step mother who had used photos of a family friend to lure Nev in.

Plans for a UK version of Catfish were launched back in January 2016 – with a twist on the original format.

The UK version was to see the fraudulent love interests come clean and reveal themselves not to be who they claimed.

A recruitment drive was launched with adverts appearing on social media declaring: "Tired of keeping secrets from your online love? Come clean" and "Are you a secret Catfish? It's time to come clean.”

However the planned project was cancelled by October that same year.

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