Rylan Clark defended his new show Dating Naked UK after critics branded it ‘disgraceful’ when it was released on Paramount+ this week.

During Friday’s This Morning Rylan said the show is doing what it is meant to do and that’s showing ‘dating, but laid bare.’

He said it’s like ‘Love Island without the bikinis’ and jibed that the ‘duty of care is like no other show.’

The new series features 10 singles seeking romance while naked in a tropical setting. Contestants face challenges as new arrivals join, disrupting existing relationships.

Rylan said: ‘It is Love Island without the bikinis, that’s pretty much what it is, you see everything, there’s no strategic placement of the cameras.’

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Rylan Clark defended his new show Dating Naked UK on This Morning on Friday after critics branded it ‘disgraceful’

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The new series features 10 singles seeking romance while naked in a tropical setting. Contestants face challenges as new arrivals join, disrupting existing relationships

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He said the show is like ‘Love Island without the bikinis’ and jibed that the ‘duty of care is like no other show’

‘You see absolutely everything, and all the reviews today from the same reviewers that give me five stars for my last show on BBC Two are like “This is disgraceful”.

‘You know “I don’t need to see this” but that’s exactly what the show is and its dating laid bare.’

Joel then asked Rylan if any of the men needed to ‘cool down’ in the pool after getting an erection.

Rylan started to discuss his crew and the levels of care they went to to ensure that the cast was comfortable while filming.

He said: ‘I’ve got to give a serious shoutout, the duty of care on this show was unlike anything I’d seen before.’

‘Our daters were incredible but the crew and the welfare team and everything. I’ve never seen a duty of care around contestants more on any other show.’

‘They’re not nudists, they’re not exhibitionists, they’re not none of this, they’re just a normal guy.’

Rochelle then asked Rylan if they should expect bombshells to come in or if any plot twists.

Rylan said: ‘Oh a lot, I mean lucky I’m wearing sleeves because I’ve got a lot up them.’

‘There is a lot of twists and turns along the way and what’s great about it is you have no idea, and they have no idea what the end goal is.’

‘No one knows, how does someone win, how does the format play out, we do, you don’t, and that’s what keeps you going.’

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While discussing the concept of the show he said: ‘You see everything, there’s no strategic placement of the cameras’

Rylan also confessed to Rochelle and Joel that some of the people starring in the show are still an item now.

He said: ‘We filmed this back in February, and there are people still together from the show.’

Comparing the show to Love Island, Rylan told the hosts: ‘When people come out of Love Island you can be quite cynical and go “they’re just doing it for the brand deals.”‘

‘But these guys haven’t been known for the past six, seven months so I know its worked.’

‘What happens throughout the show, 90% of it wouldn’t have happened if they weren’t naked so that experiment side of it all, really worked out.’

‘When it comes down to the end something happens where they then go “oh I wasn’t expecting that” and that’s when you know its genuine.’

The Paramount+ programme, which hits screens on Friday, has already been dubbed ‘Love Island on steroids’.

Like Love Island, Dating Naked has a prize of £50,000, but unlike the hit ITV2 show, the series finale has already been filmed.

Contestant Lauren, a nail technician from Herts, told The Sun: ‘I did have sex on the show — a lot of us did.’

She continued: ‘I mean, this show literally blows the socks off Love Island. I think you get to know people better being naked all the time. There’s no judgement.’

Billy, a builder from Essex, added: ‘Oh yeah it gets hot in Colombia! I feel like at first everyone’s going to be like: “What? Why is everyone naked?”‘

He continued: ‘And then by the second episode, they’ll get involved in the drama.’

Dan, a personal trainer from Woking, said: ‘I thought everyone would just want to jump on people but for most, there was a real bond.’

He added: ‘There was a lot of sex in the villa but it wasn’t casual, there were feelings involved.’

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He then gave a big shoutout to his crew for the levels of care they went to to ensure that the cast was comfortable while filming

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He said: ‘I’ve got to give a serious shoutout, the duty of care on this show was unlike anything I’d seen before, our daters were incredible but the crew and the welfare team and everything like that’

Social media executive Emily from Stockport said: ‘It shows what can happen when you strip back to basics, on everything, not just clothes.’

Other contestants include Chrislove, a hairdresser from Las Vegas, Canadian party girl Dominik, and an event planner called Mike – an ex of Chloe Ferry.

Paramount+ bosses ensured there was an on-site intimacy coach and, feeling safe, the cast swiftly shed all inhibitions.

Dating Naked began in the US where it aired three series before being cancelled. A German version began in 2023.

While the contestants were nude throughout in both versions, VH1 ensured their genitals and breasts were pixelated.

There is no pixelation or blurring in the UK version.