Sea, Sand, Sex and More Sex (Club Reps)

Member Name: yummy87

Product:	Club Reps
Date:	28/03/04 (7669 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great laughign at others misfortunes

Disadvantages: Can be embarrassing and cringworthy

I suppose all of us at some time hanker back to the days of our youth when we had few worries, apart from where the money was coming from for the next night out. Memories of holidays with friends are in the dim but distant past for me now, but I quite often site and watch ?Club Reps? on the television to remind me of what it feels to be young, free and single.

?Club Reps? follows a group of 18-30 holiday reps over the Summer season, and the camera catches the highs and lows of their jobs, and would probably serve to convince any person with a sane mind not to ever take on repping for a career. Each programme is narrated, but also has interviews with various members of the team, as well as the guests in their care.

After the last series shown in 2002, much blame was put on the programme makes for loutish behaviour from holiday makers in the resort of Faliraki in Rhodes, a direct result of people watching the programme, or so it was assumed. I beg to disagree. When you?re young, carefree and rampant, holidays are all about sun, sea booze and if you manage to pull as well it?s an added bonus. However, as a direct result of this, the series currently being aired on ITV is now set in the resort of Playa del Ingles in Grand Canaria, and so far a wicked time seems to be had by all.

18-30 holidays seems to be ever popular, with either large crowds or couples having two weeks in the sun, during which time they expect to party all the time. The Reps aim to make their holiday experience be an unforgettable one, but is it always for the right reasons?

The Reps are overseen by 27 year old Ash, the Area Controller on the island. His job is to make sure that his protégés are all doing their jobs to the best of their ability and to make sure that no problems arise, and if they do, he is the one to iron them out. Last wee
k saw Lou, a 23 year old first year rep getting herself into a bit of bother. Lou is not particularly organised, and was rushing to get her guests onto an excursion, so left a box of t-shirts behind the desk at the hotel, only to find they had disappeared when she arrived back. Instead of admitting her blunder, she tried to get two of the female reps to lie for her, but of course she was ultimately found out and was summoned to Ash in the office for a severe dressing down. Ash on first appearance, is the typical boy next door, scrubs up well and looks a bit of a Mummy?s boy. The warning started well, but he did lose it a bit at the end when he gave Lou a cuddle after she burst into tears. Lou has now received a written warning because she snogged one of the guests and was also accused of getting up to naughty things in the toilets but again Ash was too soft when he was giving her the once over. Will he cut the mustard as Area Controller? Probably not, as he?s too soft with the staff.

Ash?s right hand man is 23 year old Max, and although Max is still free to help with excursions and the like, Ash is now grooming him to make more business decisions, and to spend more time in the office, rather than being out partying with the guests and his colleagues. It?s quite frightening to think these young people could be in charge of my kids if they choose to do 18-30 holidays, as they seem so young themselves. Max loves drink and a laugh as much as the next rep, and he shares a house with Ash and Syreeta, who works in the office. The three spend most of their time winding each other up, and last week saw Syreeta coming home after a night out, knowing that Max had pulled a girl, so she sneakily crept into his bed before he got home, emptied tampax all over the floor and lay seductively waiting for his return. Of course Max, in his hurry to get up to naughty busi
ness with his conquest for the night, was not overly impressed, and although he tried to laugh it off, was getting really angry by the end of the debacle. Syreeta?s ambition is to be a rep, but as she failed to make the grade, she spends her working hours in the office, sorting paperwork and dealing with queries.

Being a Rep is not an easy job. Apart from having to rise early in the mornings to do the airport runs, reps also have to organise excursions for their guests, perform welcome meetings and generally keep the momentum and excitement going for the holiday makers. Any of the excursions and entertainment go on into the early hours of the morning, giving them precious few hours to rest their weary bodies before the onslaught of the next day begins. So far, the Reps are coping well, but it remains to be seen whether they will last the season without wanting to go home.

Although the programme focuses on the Reps and the horrendous hours they have to work, it of course takes us out with them and the holiday makers on the excursions and trips offered. Each series will focus on different guests, and this one is no different. Cue 21 year old Baxter, from Bradford, who is on holiday in Gran Canaria with his mates. Poor Baxter seems to be the butt of many a joke, and is really made to look a total moron in the series. Last week saw him on the Booze Cruise, the most popular excursion that the 18-30?s run. Approximately 100 guests are put on a boat, which is taken away from the beach and moored in the ocean, allowing the guests to drink as many cocktails, spirits and beer as they like, whilst taking part in party games and other entertainment. Baxter was told to lay on the ships deck, where he was subsequently blindfolded and covered with a mixture of whipped cream and jam. The aim of the game was to let a young lady lick it all off his body and to see how long
it would take the young, naïve Baxter excited. But, the rules were changed. As soon as Baxter was blindfolded, in steps a young gay male who proceeded to lick every bit of the sticky mixture from his body. The result ? hilarity all round, from the guests and of course me sitting at home watching it on the television. The only thing that does worry me about excursions of this type is the fact that the guests are encouraged to get absolutely blotto, then jump in the sea for a belly flop competition. Dangerous to the extreme!

The second most popular excursion is the FUBAR (F****d up beyond all recognition) bar crawl. This will take place on the guest?s first night on the island and really throws them in at the deep end. The aim of the game is to visit as many pubs and bars on the island as they possibly can, drink as many drinks as is humanly possible, and then proceed to make their way home. Managing to keep the contents of their stomach is a bonus. The whole affair is overseen by the reps, who have to keep the 140 holiday makers under control, which turns into a nightmare after the third pub, and is a constant battle to keep everyone together. Cue a telling off from Max, who likens keeping the guests together with ?herding sheep?. Alright in theory, but how many drunk, staggering sheep do you think a shepherd has to round up during the course of his work?! However, the reps do let their hair down on this one and the last bar of the night normally sees them downing drinks and joining in the partying and dancing.

The Reps also have to organise their own shows for the guests. One of the highlights was their production of ?Grease? in which all the staff come together and put on a piece de resistance for their guests entertainment. Although they have to give up their free time in order to rehearse for the shows, hilarity abounds, and they seem to
enjoy the end result as much as the audience. Of course arguments ensue during the build up to the show, and Ash seems to be forever moaning that the reps are not doing things properly, but it?s all part of the enjoyment factor to the show. It?s so funny to sit and watch a bunch of stroppy twenty somethings flouncing around as if they are Betty Grable.

Of course, the series ventures into the various clubs and bars on the island, and it never ceases to amaze me why young women seem to have to flash their boobs at the sight of a camera. Blokes drop their trousers to give us a flash of their meat and two veg with curious regularity, which begs the question Why are people so uninhibited when they are on holiday? It can?t be because nobody knows them, as millions of people have now seen their bits on the television!

I?ve already picked in my head, my favourites from the line up and the ones I don?t think will cut the mustard. Tash is the most unlikely rep I have ever seen. Although she is extremely organised and runs her ships like clockwork, she is such a quiet little mouse, I could not see her being a rep for long, and my fears were realised in Episode Three when she decided to leave. Reps need to be outgoing, confident and able to deal with abusive, drunk or rude guests, and although Tash managed to call an ambulance for the drippy Baxter, when he had far too much to drink, her medical skills weren?t up to much when he collapsed. I suppose one thing that really stands out is that if you?re an 18-30 rep, you need to be trained in what to do if someone falls down in a drunken stupor, as it seems to happen on a regular basis!

So, as another series is now well established in its Thursday night slot, will the powers that be deign it too rude for our screens for another run? Will the location have to be moved for the next series? Will the reside
nts of Gran Canaria revolt and kick them all off the island? Who knows, but the fact that people make total arses out of themselves in each episode, I?m determined to keep watching to find out!

Club Reps is shown on Thursday evenings on ITV between 11 and 11.30pm and the Uncut version is shown on ITV2 on Friday evenings at midnight.

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