‘I went on set of Graham Norton’s new ITV gameshow – it’s remarkable’

‘Welcome to The Neighbourhood. Where you are now – this is Keep Your Enemies Close, and this is the hub of the show where all the drama, tension and laughs will unfold,’ Graham Norton tells me as I step foot on the set of his blockbuster new game show, where households will be sharpening their knives to stab each other in the back for £250,000.

The Neighbourhood finally launches tonight, sandwiched between the I’m A Celebrity… South Africa live final, perfectly placed to grab reality TV fans for their first slice of what’s been widely tipped as the greatest contender to rival The Traitors.

It certainly has the ambition, as I found out when I stepped onto the extraordinary set days before filming began, on a scorching summer day, and immersed myself in the village built from scratch in seven weeks – a feat which puts the jungle, Claudia’s castle and the Big Brother house to shame.

Nestled deep in the heart of the Peak District is The Neighbourhood set, a staggering accomplishment for a reality TV show.

Six households each live in their own two-up, two-down and can gather for catch-ups over a cuppa in the local café, or wind down at the fully functioning pub, The Uppin Arms, after a long day of sending passive messages on the village WhatsApp group or competing in daily challenges that give teams the chance to win immunity at the next elimination.

There’s plenty of time to tactically mingle with other players over the pool table or darts board – there’s even a secret smoking area that viewers will never see. I caught up with Anthony, who told me how he ended up as the pub landlord of The Uppin Arms.

‘I’ve got a few pubs, and I just got a call out of the blue and thought it would be a nice change. It’s like a holiday for me,’ he told me. ‘I’m excited to work with Graham – he’s TV royalty!’

Every evening, the households plant a ‘For Sale’ sign outside the house they want to banish from the neighbourhood for good. From the two episodes I’ve seen, it’s surprisingly ruthless, with some big, punchy shocks right from the get-go.

I was fortunate – or unfortunate – enough to play one of the challenges, depending on how much you value integrity. It was a game of ‘Nasty Gnomes’, which viewers will get to see for themselves in episode two.

Split into six teams, a woodland was filled with over 2,500 gnomes, each in different guises. Norton read out a clue, and one member from each team had to sprint into the woods and find the gnome that matched the answer.

As someone who rarely finds themselves in a position to win anything but has the competitive streak of an Olympic athlete, I took this game deadly seriously – even though I had absolutely nothing to gain. No prize on offer, just glory.

But determination gets you absolutely nowhere in this game when confronted with hundreds upon hundreds of gnomes that all look identically… gnomey.

Even sprinting like a dog that’s drunk a bowl of Red Bull got me nowhere. I was useless, cost my team the chance to win, and was left to watch Joe Baggs and his family relish their victory.

After a snoop around The Neighbourhood, I’m immediately struck by how familiar it all feels; I could quite literally be in any quaint British countryside village. There is hardly a trace of being on a TV set whatsoever. The illusion is remarkable – more than 200 cameras are subtly hidden in streetlights and in various nooks and crannies inside the homes. Over the coming days, it will become home to an eclectic mix of families and teams who will essentially be playing Desperate Housewives meets Family Fortunes with a Traitors-style edge.

‘I guess the best way to think about it is it’s like the cast of Gogglebox, but if we filmed them for 24 hours a day, in every room, and they were all competing – and then one of them wins loads of money,’ says executive producer Ed Daggett.

But two households have a clear advantage. Whoever moves into the Orange House or its neighbouring Blue House will share a garden fence, out of sight of the other teams.

Should they seize the opportunity, they could easily form a much stronger alliance than anyone else – holding secret chats and making game-changing plans without their neighbours even realising.

That is, of course, if they don’t find themselves sharing a garden with the neighbour from hell and want to boot them out at the soonest opportunity.

Filming over three weeks, Graham will drop by to check in on the residents of Keep Your Enemies Close, revealing the challenges they’ll face and announcing who will be packing their bags and leaving the neighbourhood for good.

‘We’re just so over the moon that he’s hosting it,’ said Daggett. ‘He was obviously our first choice. He perfectly encapsulates what the show’s all about – the warmth, the humour, and also the gossip and the mischief.’

Graham summed up the game perfectly: ‘In the next couple of days, real families and households are going to be moving into these houses behind you, and they won’t just be neighbours – they’ll also be competitors.

‘They’re not just playing the game, they are living it. There are moments when they know they’re in a competition because someone’s going to win a challenge, but actually, you’re in the competition all the time because you need your neighbours to like you. This isn’t just about keeping up with the Joneses – it’s about beating them as well.’

The Neighbourhood airs tonight at 9pm on ITV.

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