Reality TV takes on naughty Germans

BERLIN (Reuters) - A German reality television show will whip misbehaving husbands into shape in a physical and psychological battle to win back their wives, show producers say.


"Kaempf um deine Frau" (Fight for Your Wife), due to launch in September, follows the lives of 12 men in a rigorous 10-week training camp to kick bad habits whilst improving fitness, self-discipline and self-confidence.


"These men have been chucked out by their wives for impossible behaviour: being couch potatoes, unfaithful or totally uncommunicative," said Dieter Zurstrafenen, a spokesman for the show's producers, Sat 1.


"They have made the first step but their ultimate goal is to turn themselves into attractive partners again." The wives scrutinise their husbands' performance during the show.


The winner, picked by viewers, gets to ask his wife: "Will you have me back?"


Producers said the show had already received 5,000 applications despite the absence of any cash prizes. "It's all about love, not material gain, which makes it so popular," Zurstrafenen said.