I was on Snow, Sex and Suspicious Parents

Getting loose for free with your mates on the Sauze d’Oulx slopes almost sounds too good to be true. 

But that’s exactly what Newcastle second year George Snape did after he saw an advert for a mysterious new BBC series about skiing.

Ten days later, the Urban Planning student was on a first class flight to Italy with his mates Louis and Liv and a camera in his face.

Now George spills all about what he now knows was an episode of Snow, Sex and Suspicious Parents – after Louis’ mum turned up unannounced.

He told The Tab: “I thought they were just going to film us while we went skiing.”

“Everyone at uni said it would be Snow Sex but we were in denial – we just wanted it to be a free holiday.”

Getting piste

George stumbled on an advert in March 2014 on Facebook.

The ad, published by the production company “Bullseye”, invited 18-24 year olds to be part of “a new BBC TV series”.

After getting a call back from the production company, filming started in the UK, and within days of responding to the ad, George was on his way to Italy.

The episode focused on Louis, his mum and mum’s friend.

The Facebook advert that attracted George

Louis, Liv and George

George, his mates and his mum got business class flights, and free ski gear.

He said: “Apparently going business class isn’t common – it’s because our trip was so last minute.

“They funded everything on the trip for us except booze… We had to pay for our own booze.

“They paid for our hotels in England and in Sauze d’Oulx, Italy and all the transport to and from.”

View from behind the cameras

But George always had a suspicion the programme was actually Snow Sex, even before he left the UK.

“At the top of the contract it said the programme was going to be called ‘Snow Time (Working title)’ so we knew that the title was going to change.

“A few alarm bells started ringing when we were made to sign the contracts. Louis’s mum told us to ‘Sign it… Sign it!’.

“We were under the illusion that the film would just be about what we get up to when we were skiing.

“They also took our phones and laptops before we went away. They told us that we weren’t allowed to post on social media that we’d been away because that would break our contract.

“I took Louis’s mum aside in private into the kitchen to make sure the show wasn’t actually Snow, Sex and Suspicious Parents but she insisted they wouldn’t get her anywhere near the snow! I totally believe anything that Louis’s mum says.

“Everyone at uni said it would be Snow Sex but we were in denial – we just wanted it to be a free holiday”

But George says having a camera around all the time isn’t quite as exciting as you think.

Like in Geordie Shore, cameras and lights were shoved in their faces on nights out – and other holidaymakers would shout “you’re on Snow Sex!”

“Getting out of the hotel took forever. We would have to be filmed leaving the hotel room, then go back into the room and be filmed from another angle leaving the same room, then again and again!”

About to board a first class flight

George and his friends only had about 30 minutes a day of peace away from their cameras.

If they wanted to leave the flat they had to ask and a crew would have to film their every move.

If they wanted to call someone the crew would try and stop them, but if they really needed to the crew would get their phone and call the person up before hand and speak to them.

They would then be filmed having the phone conversation.

“We’d only have about 30 minutes a day when we weren’t filmed.

“When we were in our flat at the end of the day they’d spend about 10 minutes setting up cameras then construct the conversation we were going to have. They’d say ‘so George can you ask Louis if he’s missing his Mum’.

“Once we were messing around and one of the producers shouted ‘You’re not here for a holiday you’re here to film'”.

“On the night before we finished, Louis’ mum rang Louis and she said she got told by the production team to say ‘God this signal’s good it sounds like you’re round the corner.”

“It wasn’t a huge surprise to see her by the end of the week. I’d do it again… Maybe… If it was free!”