4We are offering ten million pounds sterling to the one from ten contestants who manages to win.
Winning is not a simple matter, however and there are many tests to be overcome. This may actually be unpleasant to watch at times, but throughout the next few weeks our ten contestants will live a life of luxury.
For a while anyway.
The reasons for the luxury will become obvious as the first week progresses, and I can tell you now that the first reason for luxury is that we have not selected normal members of the public for this game. Anyone who has any value at all to society has been deemed ineligible to play. Anyone with a job, anyone with children, parents, siblings, with a bank account, a home, even a pet. To encourage our contestants to play in the first place and to sign rigid contracts to make sure that we can make sure that they follow the rules, we had to offer luxury as well as the one in ten chance of winning.
There is a greater than one in ten chance of winning in reality, and more will be revealed about that also as the game progresses.
There is also a very important reason why we have chosen people with no value for a chance to win significant riches. Though that would be telling.
We trawled the streets of the bigger cities of England and Scotland to find a 'short-list' of society's dropouts, and once we had enough we checked for suitable candidates for the game. Obviously in our 'auditions' we had to try to pick people who could and would play the game as it is meant to be played. Though who knows what will happen once the intense pressure comes to bear? And we wanted people who looked good in front of the camera. Well, we want you people to watch!
And we need you to vote as well. You won't need to pay for telephone calls though, and we will make no money from this programme, because the voting will happen over the Internet. We have spent a vast sum putting plans in place to make sure that voting is scrupulously fair. This is an absolute necessity as you will discover as you watch.
After the break we will introduce the Captive Contestants to their new house of luxury, but first you can have a quick sneak preview.
It is easily large enough on the ground floor for ten people to mix easily while living together, but also to find spaces where they can have peace and quiet on their own. There are comfortable furnishings and all the modern conveniences that you would expect in the best of houses. There is provision for self-catering, but we anticipate that most food will be requested from a full menu that we have provided, to be delivered from our chefs via the small service lift and hatch that can be found next to their kitchen. We don't provide a laundry service, but there is a washing machine for their use. Drinks can also be ordered from the menu, and there are refrigerators to keep them cool.
In the main living area there are plenty of books and electronic devices for listening to music and watching videos or DVDs. There will be no contact with the outer world though. Therefore no TV or radio.
Contact between us and them will normally be either written messages on paper posted to them through the service lift, or typed to the largest viewing screen in the main living area. The contestants will be able to interact with us by speaking, obviously, because we are watching and listening to their every move.
There is a large garden, south facing and we hope it will be sunny for the contestants. A selection of flora and fauna, pleasing to the senses and relaxing. Also a pool and small recreation or exercise area for our contestants to stay fit while they live their lives of luxury.
This place is a fortress though, for the contestants' safety and to make sure that no one comes or more importantly goes without our say-so.
In the South wall of the garden there are ten doors, leading who knows where?
See you after the break.