| Tempting Fortune | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Reality |
| Presented by | Paddy McGuinness |
| Theme music composer | Ian Livingstone |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 14 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
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| Production locations |
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| Running time | 60 minutes |
| Production companies | Voltage TV and GroupM Motion Entertainment |
| Original release | |
| Network | Channel 4 (UK) The Roku Channel (2023) |
| Release | 26 March 2023 – present |
Tempting Fortune is a British reality competition television series where a group of people try to win the biggest cash prize they can by avoiding temptations to spend money from the prize fund. [1]
The show is hosted by Paddy McGuinness. The first series was filmed in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa during 2022, and premiered on Channel 4 on 26 March 2023. [2] It was commissioned, as a co-production, in partnership with streaming platform Roku and was released by its programming brand Roku Originals. [3] The show was renewed by Channel 4 in April 2024 but Roku was no longer a partner. [4] The second series, set in Langkawi, Malaysia, began airing on 16 March 2025. [5]
Tempting Fortune is a show where 12 strangers hope to win a share of a prize pot of £300,000. They are left in a remote location where they embark on a gruelling trek to reach their destination. All the participants are provided with only the basic survival gear and they have to spend many days without any creature comfort. Along the way they are tested with temptations, such as good food, luxurious accommodation, various home comfort or opportunity to skip a difficult part of the trek to see if they have the willpower to resist spending their money on these luxuries. Every temptation chosen by the participants will be subtracted from the final prize pool. The more they spend and the less money they will win at the end. [6]
| Series | Episodes | Premiere | Finale |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | 30 March 2023 | 10 April 2023 |
| 2 | 8 | 16 March 2025 | 7 April 2025 |
| Name [7] | Age | Occupation | Temptation spending | Winnings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ashton | 28 | Event singer | £600 | £22,008 |
| Carolynn | 65 | Retired Trauma Nurse | £4,283.33 | £20,608 |
| Charlie | 25 | Fish and Chip Shop Worker | £1,600 | £21,008 |
| Dan | 31 | Social Worker | £7,083.33 | £19,608 |
| Dee | 44 | Event Caterer | £7,983.33 | £19,608 |
| Jack | 22 | Content Creator | £5,516.66 | £20,475 |
| James | 50 | Ex-professional Basketball Player | £3,000 | £22,608 |
| Lani | 33 | Graphic Designer | £7,016.66 | £20,475 |
| Luke | 39 | Meditation Coach | £0 | £22,608 |
| Michelle | 37 | Works in Sales | £6,183.33 | £20,508 |
| Tahira | 39 | Field Organiser | £0 | £22,608 |
| Trelwey-Precious | 22 | Social Media Influencer | £2,433.33 | £20,175 |
| Temptation | Cost | Tempted contestants | Total spent | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Easy route to next camp | £3,000 per person | None | £0 | |
| Winnebago for the night | £8,000 per person | None | £0 | This is available every night and was never used |
| Coffee | £200 per drink | None | £0 | |
| Diner serving fast food | Various prices | Lani | £500 | One milkshake |
| Luxury Safari Lodge Getaway | £4,000 for 2 people | None | £0 | |
| Shortcut to next camp | £4,000 per person | None | £0 | |
| Canoes instead of rafts | £4,000 for the whole group | None | £0 | |
| Hot Chocolate | £400 per drink | Lani | £400 | This was a temptation done in private. Lani only drinks half the drink. |
| Luxury Spa | £1,000 or £1,500 per person depending on package | Dan, Jack, Lani, and Michelle. | £4,500 | Lani opted for the 'indulgence' package costing £1,500. |
| Vending machine | Various prices | Dan and Jack | £400 | This was a temptation done in private as a pair and not given to any other contestants. They bought a bar of chocolate and shared it with everyone else. |
| Equipment | Various prices | Dee | £2,000 | Dee needed new walking boots as she had misshapen them after leaving them too close to the fire. This wasn't a temptation per se. |
| Home Comforts package | £1,500 per person | None | £0 | It included food and drinks, a mock living room with a chance to watch TV for the evening. |
| The teams are now split in two, those that have spent in one team, those that haven't in another | ||||
| Alcohol | Various prices | Carolyn, Dan, Dee, Jack, and Michelle | £800 | Carolynn, Dan, Jack, and Michelle shared a bottle of wine (£400 in total) and Dee had 2 beers (£400) |
| Phone call home | £100 per minute | Dan (7 minutes) and Dee (3 minutes) | £1,000 | This temptation was done in private |
| Coffee and pastry | £200 for a coffee with a pastry | Carolynn and Lani | £200 | Carolynn had the coffee and Lani had the pastry |
| A party | £3,500 per group | Carolynn, Dan, Dee, Jack, Lani, and Michelle | £3,500 | Included food, drink, and a silent disco |
| Glamping Hotel | £3,000 per double bed | Carolynn, Dan, Dee, Jack, James, Lani, and Michelle | £12,000 | Included food and drinks and breakfast the next morning. James stole some teabags despite not taking the full temptation but was charged as if he had. |
| Two groups are reunited as one team again | ||||
| Donuts | £200 per donut | None | £0 | |
| Bag taken directly to next camp | £500 per person | Michelle | £500 | |
| Cocktail Bar | £300 for a cocktail, £200 for any other drink | Dee, Lani, Michelle | £900 | Dee had wine, Lani had a cocktail and Michelle had 2 wines |
| Spending is now taken from your own personal funds left rather than the whole group | ||||
| Safari | £1,500 per person | Carolynn, Dan, and Dee | £4,500 | |
| Cocktail Bar | £300 for a cocktail, £200 for any other drink | Ashton, Charlie, Jack, Lani, Michelle, Trelwey-Precious | £3,900 | |
| Bubble Bath and a car ride halfway through trek | £100 per bath | Jack, Lani and Trelwey-Precious | £100 | Shared the bath |
| Last supper | £1,000 per person | Charlie, Dan, Dee, Jack, Lani, Michelle, Trelwey-Precious | £7,000 | A slap up meal and unlimited drinks |
| Shortcut to the finish line | £500 per person | Carolynn, Dan, Dee, Jack, Lani, Michelle, Trelwey-Precious | £3,500 | A car taking them directly to the finish line instead of trekking |
Together the contestants spent £26,700 on temptations shown. However, the show jumps the amount between temptations and has the total spent as £28,700.
| Name | Age | Occupation | Temptations and spendings | Winnings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| David | 38 | Vicar | £3,975 and £14,000 banked | £28,835 |
| Henry | 23 | Amateur Footballer | £1,750 and £4,000 banked | £18,835 |
| Hugo | 20 | University Student | £1,500* | £14,835 |
| Imani | 32 | Fashion Blogger | £9,250 and £1,500 banked | £16,335 |
| Martha | 24 | Yacht Stewardess | £4,050 and £4,000 banked | £18,835 |
| Nathaniel | 29 | Personal trainer | £12,925 and £10,000 banked | £24,835 |
| Sam | 40 | Ex restaurant owner | £3,075 and £4,000 banked | £18,835 |
| Ted | 58 | Retired Prison Officer | £25,000 cost to fly home | £0 |
| Thom | 33 | Hospitality Sales Manager | £2,850 and £4,000 banked | £18,835 |
| Tomasz | 39 | Firefighter | £7,300 | £14,835 |
| Trish | 59 | Paramedic | £4,425 | £14,835 |
| Vicky | 38 | Greeting Cards Business owner | £4,425 and £30,000 to fly home | £0 |
| Temptation | Cost | Tempted contestants | Total spent | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Glamping beds | £1,200 per double bed | Imani | £1,200 | Only started using it at 2am |
| Air conditioning cubicle | £200 per minute | Imani | £1,000 | |
| Taxi to next campsite | £1,500 per person | Trish and Vicky | £3,000 | |
| Pool Club | £2,000 per person | Imani and Tomasz | £4,000 | |
| Flight home | £25,000 | Ted | £25,000 | Ted left on medical grounds so didn't have the additional £5,000 taken from the prize fund. |
| Glamping | £750 per person | Vicky | £750 | The team was split into small groups for this task and offered it in smaller groups |
| Taxi to next camp | £1,000 per person | Imani and Vicky | £2,000 | |
| The Nag's Head Pub | Various prices | Imani, Tomasz, and Vicky | £1,400 | Imani had a Fanta, Tomasz had a pint of Guinness, Vicky had a portion of cheesey chips. |
| Home comforts | £300 | David, Imani and Tomasz | £900 | David had a packet of Haribo, Imani had a haircare kit and Tomasz had a donut. The temptation was done in secret without other teams members knowing of it was taken or not. |
| Hotel | £2,000 per double bed | Martha and Tomasz | £2,000 | They shared a bed |
| Flight home | £25,000 + £5,000 | Vicky | £30,000 | |
| Coffee Shop | £250 for a coffee and pastry for two people | David, Nathaniel, Sam and Trish | £500 | Sam gave her pastry to Trish |
| Chinese Buffet | £4,500 per group | Imani, Martha, Nathaniel, Thom and Trish | £4,500 | 3 or more members had to say yes to have it. They are split in two groups at this point. |
| The Retreat | Blind auction bid | Nathaniel | £10,000 | The next highest bid was only £3,698. There was an option to take a second person which wasn't used. |
| Pick n Mix | Various prices | None | £0 | Only temptation the group turned down |
| ATM | Various prices + £250 transaction fee | David, Henry, Imani, Martha, Sam and Thom | £23,000 | Of those tempted everyone chose to take £4,000 except Imani who opted for £1,500. |
| Disco | £400 per person | David, Imani, Martha, Nathaniel, Tomasz and Trish | £2,400 | |
| Video call home | £100 per minute | David, Imani, Sam, Thom and Tomasz | £3,000 | |
| The Spa | Various prices | David and Tomasz | £2,000 | Both spent £1,000 each. |
| Super Yacht | £10,000 for 5 people or £15,000 for 10 people | All | £15,000 | Trish, Tomasz, Imani, Martha, David, Nathaniel all wanted to do it, unlocking the temptation for everyone. Hugo and Henry decide not to take temptation even though they technically paid for it. |
| £20,000 cash in a rucksack | £20,000 | David and Nathaniel | £20,000 | In pairs, couples went and could open the bag and take £20,000 between them or reject it. If everyone rejects the bag the funds stayed with the group as a whole. No other pair even looked in the bag. |
Together the contestants spent £60,150 on temptations shown. The contestants took £41,500 from the prize fund and banked it for themselves.
| Year | Award | Category | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Venice TV Awards | Reality TV | Won | [8] |
| 2023 | TBI Content Innovation Awards | Reality Show of the Year | Won | [9] |
| Rose d’Or Awards | Competition Reality | Nominated | [10] | |
| C21 International Format Awards | Best Competition Reality Format | Nominated | [11] | |
| Country | Local name | Network | Presenter | Winners | Originally aired |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greece [12] | Tempting Fortune Greece | Skai TV | Yannis Tsimitselis | Series 1 (2024): Roula | 17 September 2024 |
| Italy [13] [14] | Money Road – Ogni tentazione ha un prezzo | Sky Uno TV8 | Fabio Caressa | Series 1 (2025): Grazia Amas and Yaser Qurum | 29 May 2025 |
| Mexico [15] | TBA | TV Azteca | TBA | ||
| Norway [16] | Ville fristelser | NRK1 | Nathan Kahungu | TBA | 6 September 2025 |
| Romania [17] | Tempting Fortune România | Kanal D | Zoli Tóth | Series 1 (2025): Gabriel Muntianu | 11 May 2025 |
| United Kingdom (original format) | Tempting Fortune | Channel 4 | Paddy McGuinness | Series 1 (2023): James Series 2 (2025): David | 26 March 2023 |
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