The Simpler Life launches on Channel 4 tonight and is a fascinating insight into the Amish community.
Sorry to disappoint if you’d come her looking for a remake of the Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie’s early 2003 series, but it’s just as watchable.
This factual entertainment series sees a group of self-confessed modern life junkies have agreed to throw away their phones, TVs, Deliveroo and even electricity.
They’ll be living the simplest lives imaginable to see what effect is has on both their physical and mental health.
What is The Simpler Life on Channel 4 about?
Read more: Strictly’s Nikita Kuzmin gives update of loved ones currently in Ukraine
The Millers, an Amish family from Millersberg in Ohio, have come to the UK to help a selection of people learn to live the simple life.
Lloyd and Edna Miller have been married for 34 years, have six children and seven grandchildren.
They own – and run – a traditional dairy farm in the States, where they own over 60 cows.
Their days begin at 3.30am every day and they milk the cows every 12 hours.
But how will they fare overseeing 24 English city slickers adjust to a new way of life?
The participants will regularly be monitored to see how and if their mental and physical health is improving.
Where was The Simpler Life filmed?
The show was shot on rural Devon farmland over a period of four months.
That’s a lot of time for 24 strangers and self-confessed city dwellers to be thrown together for.
What does being Amish mean?
The Amish roots are deep within Christianity and they mostly turn their backs on anything that stops them spending time with their family and community.
They’re known for their simple living, plain clothing – which is usually hand-sewn – and slowness to take up any new technologies.
The Amish value rural life, manual labour and living on the land God provided.
Are the people taking part in The Simpler Life Amish?
The participants – with the exception of the Miller family – aren’t Amish.
They come from all walks of life and have very different reasons for why they want to take part in the experiment.
South London lass, Penny, decided to take part with her two daughters, Dilara and Azara, after a health scare.
Penny previously worked as a Footballers’ PA and says she has a liking for the ‘finer things in life’.
The family were left reeling after being caught in an Earthquake in Turkey in 2020, which Penny followed by becoming seriously ill with Covid.
Being left unable to move in a hospital bed, Penny made the decision to make some changes in her families lives.
But how will she – and her daughters – cope without their phones and social media?
Do they live without electricity?
Yep. Electricity is one of the things Amish communities tend not to use so it’s goodbye Netflix and iPhones for the participants.
And not just those little luxuries either. There’s no lighting in the houses the participants live in, which means candles when it gets dark.
There’s also no gas on the 40-acre farmstead.
Oh, and a quick trip to the local shop means saddling up a horse and trap.
So who’s taking part in the show?
We’ve already mentioned Penny and her daughters. Another family, Andrew, Gary and their adopted sons Ki and Tommy, join them.
Jamie and Jerome are twin brothers from South London. They work in the NHS and run a successful Youtube Channel called TwinsovTwins. They confess to being city boys and want to learn new experiences about the countryside through the experiment.
There’s 23-year-old Kevin who is probably the most positive person that has ever existed. He wants to make lifelong friends from the show.
40-year-old pub manager Harry from the Cotswolds will is certainly a good reason to tune in. He says that lockdown forced him into a period of self-reflection.
Maty is a 24-year-old model and waitress, who was recently diagnosed with ADHD. She struggles and often feels overwhelmed, hoping that the structure of life on the farm will help her manage her ADHD symptoms.
Read more: The Queen wouldn’t want to be seen using a wheelchair says Gyles Brandreth
Project manager Fran is 33 and super ambitious. She moved to Liverpool during lockdown for a change and admits her addictions are scrolling and bad dates.
She hopes this experience will give her what she’s looking for to truly thrive.
Siblings Jacob, 21 and Poppy, 16 are both students. Jacob might regret admitting to being afraid of animals when he has to milk a cow.
Meanwhile, Poppy says she is a strong woman and won’t be afraid to challenge the views of others.
There’s couple Joseph and Victoria who met at a Tinder event. Joseph runs a PR company and Victoria is a content creator, so they’re both keen to step away from their work-heavy lives and discover their true selves.
Have people already walked out of The Simpler Life on Channel 4?
A report in The Sun yesterday said: “The mass exits were largely down to culture clashes between modern-living Brits and the Amish family, who ignore all the trappings of the 21st century.”
Which was, er, what they signed up for.
A source told the publication: “The whole point of the show was to see just how long modern Brits could fare without all the bells and whistles of the 21st century.
“The answer was quite simple: not very well. Hardly any of the original 24 got to the end of the process. Most walked after getting fed up of the basic way the Amish family wanted to do things.”
The insider added: “Those with kids struggled the most, given they had all their creature comforts taken away and were fed quite basic food for weeks on end.
“They missed their old lives the most.”
ED! has contacted a rep for the show about this story.
The Simpler Life airs Tuesdays at 9.15pm and Wednesdays at 9pm for three weeks on Channel 4
What do you think of our story? Head to our Facebook page @EntertainmentDailyFix and let us know.