| Paris Hilton's Dubai BFF | |
|---|---|
| Format | Competitive reality show |
| Starring | Paris Hilton |
| Opening theme | "My BFF" by Paris Hilton |
| Country of origin | United Arab Emirates |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 9 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 60 Minutes (including commercials) |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | Dubai TV (planned, cancelled) MTV (picked-up) |
| Original airing | April 17, 2011 |
| Chronology | |
| Preceded by | Paris Hilton's My New BFF (season 2) |
| Related shows | The World According to Paris |
| External links | |
| Website | |
Paris Hilton's Dubai BFF, sometimes alternatively referred to as Paris Hilton's BFF Dubai, is a reality television show from Dubai, where Paris Hilton searches for her new best friend in the Middle East. It is the fourth and final incarnation of the My New BFF franchise. After many delays, this season premiered on MTV in several countries during April, 2011. The winner was Reem Al Alnezi from Kuwait.
Contents |
Shooting started on June 17, 2009 and shot for seventeen days. In these seventeen days Hilton desires to find a new BFF in a group of twenty female contestants; originally reported to be ten female Arab citizens of Dubai and ten women of other nationalities, but currently living there.[1] In the first episode, it was revealed that the initial contestant count actually came to 24 and featured women from all over the world.
Hilton had also never been to Dubai before, so part of the show includes her initial reactions to her first trip to the United Arab Emirates. In a fashion similar to Onch during Paris Hilton's My New BFF (season 2), the show features a co-host. Nayla Al Khaji, a Dubai film-maker and friend of Hilton's, filled this role. While being an integral part of the show, including during eliminations and providing updates to the contestants, Al Khaji also assisted Hilton as a guide while in the Middle East.
The series is reported to feature a social event in The BED Lounge, a club in Dubai. Tickets to attend the event were sold freely.[2]
On June 17 Hilton started posting pictures of Dubai and the places she's visiting there on her Twitter page. Parts of the show will probably take place here. Hilton's pictures included a slide called the Leap of Faith[3][4] and an aquarium.[5]
The last episode of the show concluded with a final shoot in Los Angeles.
Dubai TV executive, Ziad Batal explained that this version “would have to be compatible with cultural sensitivities as Hilton is known for her wild partying.”[6] Ish Entertainment co-founder Michael Hirschhorn expanded on this, explaining that the Dubai production won't be quite as racy as the U.S. or U.K. editions. Alcohol, normally a reality TV staple, won't play a role on this version. Swearing, sexually explicit conversation or risque clothing will be kept to a minimum. The production had to receive several layers of approval before moving forward; even Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai, had to give his blessing.
Legal issues delayed the airing of this series for over a year.
A suit was filed against producers by an American woman with no official connection to the program, Lisa Miceli, in June after she felt the show, including Hilton and Ish Entertainment, had attempted a "hostile takeover" of her life, including attempts to interfere with her alleged personal relationship with Sheik Ahmed Bin Saeed Bin Al Maktoum, of Dubai, whom she said she plans to marry. It is thought promotion and airing of the series has been halted due to this, however the suit has since been dismissed, allowing for plans for the series to proceed.[7]
While it was originally expected to air in Winter 2010,[8] Lionsgate Television executives claim producers at Uniqon Emirates, LLC signed a written agreement, worth US$8 million, to co-produce and distribute Paris Hilton's Dubai BFF in the Middle East. Uniqon Emirates failed to pay more than $4.7 million to cover the production and distribution costs and Lionsgate filed a federal suit for breach of contract in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles on February 2, 2010.[9]
No official outcome for the suit was announced, however the series failed to air on Dubai TV, the announced original network for this version. MTV, being the original stakeholders for the franchise, came to the seemingly doomed series' rescue. MTV assumed world-wide airing rights for Dubai BFF[10] and the series began airing on various MTV networks throughout the world in early 2011.[11][12][13] Producers initially stated they planned to also licence the U.A.E. version for U.S. airing, however the U.S. MTV is still yet to add Dubai BFF to their schedule.
Despite rumors suggesting Hilton may be shooting a second season of the Dubai BFF series in mid-2011[14], she has since clarrified that she will not be shooting any further seasons of the BFF franchise and that she has moved on.[15][16]
Table will be filled in as the season progresses and the announced contestants are eliminated.
| Country | Contestants | Episodes | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | |||||||||
| Reem Al Anezi | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | LOW | SAFE | SAFE | WIN | BFF | ||||||||
| Dana Elemara | SAFE | SAFE | STAR | WIN | WIN | SAFE | SAFE | TTYS | ||||||||
| Dina Altaji | SAFE | LOW | WIN | STAR | SAFE | SAFE | WIN | TTYS | ||||||||
| Amy Marie Parker | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | LOW | LOW | LOW | TTYS | ||||||||
| Mandy Dabiri | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | TTYS | |||||||||
| Gelareh Monajemi | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | STAR | LOW | TTYS | |||||||||
| Branka Conda | SAFE | WIN | LOW | WIN | SAFE | TTYN | ||||||||||
| Farhana Bodi | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | LOW | TTYS | |||||||||||
| Christiane Zeitouny | SAFE | WIN | SAFE | TTYS | ||||||||||||
| Marta Vezzaro | SAFE | WIN | SAFE | TTYS | ||||||||||||
| Bassant Shams | SAFE | STAR | TTYN | |||||||||||||
| Dalila Laaribi | SAFE | TTYN | ||||||||||||||
| Alaa Alkhalil | TTYN | |||||||||||||||
| Angel Arbid | TTYN | |||||||||||||||
| Nagris Khamraeva | TTYN | |||||||||||||||
| Katra Abdinur | TTYN | |||||||||||||||
| Monica | TTYN | |||||||||||||||
| Megan Brooks | TTYN | |||||||||||||||
| Natalia Kapchuk | TTYN | |||||||||||||||
| Liliya Afridi | TTYN | |||||||||||||||
| Celina Batista | TTYN | |||||||||||||||
| Tarin Savage | TTYN | |||||||||||||||
| Kelly Haechler | TTYN | |||||||||||||||
| Yasmin Haring | TTYN | |||||||||||||||
| Rank | Country | Name | Eliminated | Reason for elimination | Episode eliminated | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Reem Al Anezi |
on June 12, 2011. Although Paris thought that she and Reem were quite different, she felt that Reem was the most genuine, classy and graceful under pressure, exactly what she wanted from her BFF. |
||||
| 2–3 | Dana Elemara |
on June 12, 2011. |
Paris commented that she had liked Dana from the start and that her mother, Kathy Hilton, liked her the most. However, Paris was concerned that Dana may be confused about who she was, and worried that if they became friends, Dana could change into a different person. | Episode 8 | ||
| Dina Altaji | Paris was concerned with Dina's unpopularity with her fellow contestants. She was also worried by the fact that Dina was voted 'Most Fake' by the other girls at the 'Real or Fake' challenge. | |||||
| 4 | Amy Marie Parker |
on June 12, 2011. |
Paris thought that Amy could be too intense and sometimes not herself. She was concerned that Amy was voted the 3rd most fake in the 'Real or Fake Challenge.' Paris was also worried about Amy's aggressive, out-of-character behaviour towards Farhana. | Episode 8 | ||
| 5 | Mandy Dabiri |
on May 29, 2011. |
Paris felt that Mandy was too much of a party animal, who wanted to live Paris' lavish party lifestyle. She thought Mandy was not realistic about being her BFF. | Episode 7 | ||
| 6 | Galareh Monajemi |
on May 29, 2011. |
Paris felt that Gelareh could be too negative at times. She also thought that Gelareh was not too keen on wanting to remain in the competition and in actually wanting to be Paris' BFF. | Episode 7 | ||
| 7 | Branka Conda |
on May 22, 2011. |
Paris was not present when Branka was eliminated. Instead, Abdul conveyed her message that she could only have one BFF and it would not be Branka. No specific reasons were given, although Paris may have based her decision on her mother's opinion of Branka, as Kathy had a low opinion of Branka. | Episode 6 | ||
| 8 | Farhana Bodi |
on May 15, 2011. |
Paris was unsure of her real intentions. She felt that Farhana held back too much, and was too defensive when challenged about being a hungry tiger. | Episode 5 | ||
| 9 | Christiane "Christy" Zeitouny |
on May 8, 2011. |
Paris thought that she was too naive and fragile in handling difficult situations. She concluded that Christy would not be able to tolerate her world. | Episode 4 | ||
| 10 | Marta Vezzaro |
on May 8, 2011. |
Paris felt that she had a quick temper, reacting too aggressively to the silliest of things, as well as throwing uncalled for tantrums. | |||
| 11 | Bassant Shams |
on May 1, 2011. |
Paris felt she was untrustworthy, as Bassant was a self-proclaimed "hungry tiger" looking to increase her fame and career opportunities | Episode 3 | ||
| 12 | Dalila Laaribi |
on April 24, 2011. |
Paris felt she could be offensive to others with her jokes and carefree attitude. Before Paris announced the elimination, Dalila suddenly insisted on leaving, instead of close friend Dina, which seemed to affect the decision. | Episode 2 | ||
| 13–24 | Alaa "Ally" Alkhalil |
on April 17, 2011. |
Did not give a good first impression to Paris.1 | Episode 1 | ||
| Angel Arbid | ||||||
| Nagris Khamraeva | ||||||
| Katra Abdinur | ||||||
| Monica | ||||||
| Megan Brooks | ||||||
| Natalia Kapchuk | ||||||
| Liliya Afridi | ||||||
| Celina Batista | ||||||
| Tarin Savage | ||||||
| Kelly Haechler | ||||||
| Yasmin Haring | ||||||
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