''Tempting Fortune'' is a British
reality competition
Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring ordinary people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 1990s ...
television series where a group of people try to win the biggest cash prize they can by avoiding temptations to spend money from the prize fund.
The show is hosted by
Paddy McGuinness
Patrick Joseph McGuinness (born 14 August 1973) is an English comedian, actor, writer, and television presenter. He rose to fame with the help of fellow comedian Peter Kay, who invited him to appear on the television comedy series '' That Peter ...
. The first series was filmed in the
Eastern Cape
The Eastern Cape ( ; ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, and its largest city is Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth). Due to its climate and nineteenth-century towns, it is a common location for tourists. It is also kno ...
province of
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
during 2022, and premiered on
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...
on 26 March 2023. It was commissioned, as a co-production, in partnership with streaming platform
Roku
Roku ( ) is a brand of consumer electronics that includes streaming players, smart TVs (and their operating systems), as well as a free TV streaming service. The brand is owned by Roku, Inc., an American company.
As of 2024, Roku is the U ...
and was released by its programming brand
Roku Originals
The Roku Channel is an American video streaming service, streaming service which launched in September 2017. In 2021, The Roku Channel began releasing original programming branded as "Roku Originals", including acquisitions from the defunct Quib ...
. The show was renewed by Channel 4 in April 2024 but Roku was no longer a partner. The second series, set in
Langkawi
Langkawi, officially known as Langkawi, the Jewel of Kedah (), is a duty-free island and an archipelago of 99 islands (plus five small islands visible only at low tide in the Strait of Malacca) located some 30 km off the coast of northwe ...
,
Malaysia
Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...
, began airing on 16 March 2025.
Format
''Tempting Fortune'' is a show where 12 strangers hope to win a share of a prize pot of £300,000. They are left in a remote location where they embark on a gruelling trek to reach their destination. All the participants are provided with only the basic survival gear and they have to spend many days without any creature comfort. Along the way they are tested with temptations, such as good food, luxurious accommodation, various home comfort or opportunity to skip a difficult part of the trek to see if they have the willpower to resist spending their money on these luxuries. Every temptation chosen by the participants will be subtracted from the final prize pool. The more they spend and the less money they will win at the end.
Series overview
Series 1 (2023)
Contestants
Temptations
Together the contestants spent £26,700 on temptations shown. However, the show jumps the amount between temptations and has the total spent as £28,700.
Series 2 (2025)
Contestants
*Hugo technically never chose to spend any money, this was a temptation where if enough people chose to do it (6 out of 10) it was offered to everyone. Hugo did not take the offer of the temptation despite it being paid for.
Temptations
Together the contestants spent £60,150 on temptations shown. The contestants took £41,500 from the prize fund and banked it for themselves.
Awards and nominations
International versions
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See also
* ''
Stranded with a Million Dollars
''Stranded with a Million Dollars'' is a survival reality series that premiered on MTV
MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Gr ...
''
References
External links
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* {{UKGameshow, Tempting_Fortune
2020s British reality television series
2023 British television series debuts
Adventure reality television series
Reality competition television series
Roku original programming
Channel 4 reality television shows
Television shows filmed in Malaysia
Television shows filmed in South Africa
British English-language television shows