England’s latest batch of new celebrities got straight into ‘work’ last night, as new MTV ‘reality’ series Geordie Shore kicked off as it means to go on, with cast members proving the show’s tagline that they were ‘No Angels of the North’, and revealing just why they were chosen by producers to be the best-known party-goers in the city of Newcastle, in a show not made for young eyes.

Regardless of the controversial post-watershed content, the first episode of the spin-off of American hit Jersey Shore did well ratings-wise, pulling in over 320,000 viewers.

While that is not enough to challenge BAFTA-winning rival The Only Way Is Essex (ITV2, which scored a debut rating of 886,000), and fellow new challenger Made In Chelsea (E4, 372,000 viewers on its first episode earlier this month), it needs to be noted that the other two shows were on ‘Freeview’ networks, meaning that for MTV (a subscription channel in the UK), Geordie Shore could be considered a relative ratings success so far.

Quality seems to be the order of the game for MTV’s producers with their rivals at an advantage numbers-wise, as cast member James said of comparisions to The Only Way Is Essex earlier this week: “That’s boring! If you think someone getting into a pool is entertaining, what till you see what we’re like. We’re just having a good time, that’s what we want it to show, and just putting Newcastle on the map and showing it’s a really good place to go out.”

As predicted, though, local viewers in the Tyne & Wear region, much like Essex and New Jersey (USA) before it, are not pleased at the new and reinforced stereotypes being conveyed to the audience by these new ‘reality’ stars.

A viewer claiming to be from the North East unleashed his anger on a Facebook page, writing: “Absolutely awful. Paints the North East as trash. You can’t seriously tell me they didn’t watch it and cringe too. The person who produced the show must hate us up here, to portray us like that.”

Another Geordie confirmed these sentiments, writing: “It was even worse than I imagined it would be. Geordie/North East folk have been made a laughing stock.”

Although the show is not the local-friendly picture it wanted to paint, it still seems to have the potential to entertain each week, as the wild antics of the housemates are brought to public attention. MTV are also giving viewers the chance to catch up on the series via the show’s official website. Will the Geordies match in England the impact that the Jersey Guidos have had on America?

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