Well-heeled Palm residents have been invited to sign up for a new reality TV show. The only qualifications are applicants must be perma-tanned, rich and not afraid to flaunt it.
A British production company is currently looking for cast members to star in a new reality series, focusing on the glamorous lives of residents of Dubai's Palm Jumeirah.
Arrow Media, based in London, issued a flyer on UAE expat websites on Monday calling for individuals with "big personalities and an interesting story to tell" to get in touch.
The makers are working with network ITV, which broadcasts Love Island and The Only Way Is Essex, to develop the programme and are specifically looking for British expats who have moved or are about to move to the Palm, according to British Mums.
The flyer reads: "Are you a BRITISH EXPAT? Do you LIVE/WORK/ or PLAY on The Palm. Are you moving to The Palm this summer? A major international TV network is casting people who have started new lives on the sunny Palm. Seeking individuals with big personalities and an interesting story to tell."
The news has already attracted a lot of attention on social media with many excited at the prospect of having their lives featured on TV.
One person enthusiastically commented: "Time to move to the palm. Palm Island? Real housewives of the palm?"
While a friend replied: "OMG this is right up my street!"
However, others were not so pleased about the upcoming show, with one user sarcastically writing on Facebook: "Oh joy, just what we need - a show about Jumeirah Janes and Palm Patricks."
Miranda Davidson, a casting agent who has worked on many films including the seventh instalment of the Fast and Furious films, which was filmed in Abu Dhabi and Star Trek Beyond, which was filmed in Dubai, cautioned producers to act with care.
She told The National: "You have to be aware about filming and casting in the Middle East. It is important to know about the lay of the land.
"They will have to be careful with alcohol, scenes with sexual content and they will have to be careful about showing any nudity."
Davidson said to stand a chance of being selected, potential cast members would have to be "interesting and uninhibited".
Arrow is the company behind the popular series Ultimate Airport Dubai, which allowed unprecedented access into Dubai International Airport, one of the busiest in the world.
The media group also produced many popular TV series including Animal Fight Night, broadcast on the National Geographic Channel, and Don't Tell The Doctor, shown on Channel 5.
Since construction of the Palm finished in 2006, families moved in in their thousands, with an estimated 26,000 residing on the islands in 2015.
While Bollywood actress and Celebrity Big Brother UK winner Shilpa Shetty once owned a home in Dubai, selling up just over a year ago.
It won't be the first time that the Palm has been featured on a reality show; popular franchises the Real Housewives of Beverley Hills and The Real Housewives of Cheshire have both filmed episodes on the islands.
Meanwhile the original queen of reality TV Paris Hilton searched for a new best friend in the Emirate in Paris Hilton's Dubai BFF back in 2011.
If you think you have what it takes to become the next big reality star email casting@arrowmedia.com
The National has contacted a representative for Arrow Media to confirm further details about the project.
Defending champions
World Series: South Africa
Women’s World Series: Australia
Gulf Men’s League: Dubai Exiles
Gulf Men’s Social: Mediclinic Barrelhouse Warriors
Gulf Vets: Jebel Ali Dragons Veterans
Gulf Women: Dubai Sports City Eagles
Gulf Under 19: British School Al Khubairat
Gulf Under 19 Girls: Dubai Exiles
UAE National Schools: Al Safa School
International Invitational: Speranza 22
International Vets: Joining Jack
Series information
Pakistan v Dubai
First Test, Dubai International Stadium
Sun Oct 6 to Thu Oct 11
Second Test, Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Tue Oct 16 to Sat Oct 20
Play starts at 10am each day
Teams
Pakistan
1 Mohammed Hafeez, 2 Imam-ul-Haq, 3 Azhar Ali, 4 Asad Shafiq, 5 Haris Sohail, 6 Babar Azam, 7 Sarfraz Ahmed, 8 Bilal Asif, 9 Yasir Shah, 10, Mohammed Abbas, 11 Wahab Riaz or Mir Hamza
Australia
1 Usman Khawaja, 2 Aaron Finch, 3 Shaun Marsh, 4 Mitchell Marsh, 5 Travis Head, 6 Marnus Labuschagne, 7 Tim Paine, 8 Mitchell Starc, 9 Peter Siddle, 10 Nathan Lyon, 11 Jon Holland
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Company profile
Name: Steppi
Founders: Joe Franklin and Milos Savic
Launched: February 2020
Size: 10,000 users by the end of July and a goal of 200,000 users by the end of the year
Employees: Five
Based: Jumeirah Lakes Towers, Dubai
Financing stage: Two seed rounds – the first sourced from angel investors and the founders' personal savings
Second round raised Dh720,000 from silent investors in June this year
House-hunting
Top 10 locations for inquiries from US house hunters, according to Rightmove
- Edinburgh, Scotland
- Westminster, London
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- Tower Hamlets, London
How to avoid crypto fraud
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The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
Oscars in the UAE
The 90th Academy Awards will be aired in the UAE from 3.30am on Monday, March 5 on OSN, with the ceremony starting at 5am
Russia's Muslim Heartlands
Dominic Rubin, Oxford
SPEC SHEET
Display: 6.8" edge quad-HD dynamic Amoled 2X, Infinity-O, 3088 x 1440, 500ppi, HDR10 , 120Hz
Processor: 4nm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1/Exynos 2200, 8-core
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Storage: 128/256/512GB/1TB
Platform: Android 12
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SIM: single nano, or nano and SIM, nano and nano, eSIM/nano and nano
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The biog
Name: Salvador Toriano Jr
Age: 59
From: Laguna, The Philippines
Favourite dish: Seabass or Fish and Chips
Hobbies: When he’s not in the restaurant, he still likes to cook, along with walking and meeting up with friends.
TCL INFO
Teams:
Punjabi Legends Owners: Inzamam-ul-Haq and Intizar-ul-Haq; Key player: Misbah-ul-Haq
Pakhtoons Owners: Habib Khan and Tajuddin Khan; Key player: Shahid Afridi
Maratha Arabians Owners: Sohail Khan, Ali Tumbi, Parvez Khan; Key player: Virender Sehwag
Bangla Tigers Owners: Shirajuddin Alam, Yasin Choudhary, Neelesh Bhatnager, Anis and Rizwan Sajan; Key player: TBC
Colombo Lions Owners: Sri Lanka Cricket; Key player: TBC
Kerala Kings Owners: Hussain Adam Ali and Shafi Ul Mulk; Key player: Eoin Morgan
Venue Sharjah Cricket Stadium
Format 10 overs per side, matches last for 90 minutes
Timeline October 25: Around 120 players to be entered into a draft, to be held in Dubai; December 21: Matches start; December 24: Finals
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Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
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Hidden killer
Sepsis arises when the body tries to fight an infection but damages its own tissue and organs in the process.
The World Health Organisation estimates it affects about 30 million people each year and that about six million die.
Of those about three million are newborns and 1.2 are young children.
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- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
How to improve Arabic reading in early years
One 45-minute class per week in Standard Arabic is not sufficient
The goal should be for grade 1 and 2 students to become fluent readers
Subjects like technology, social studies, science can be taught in later grades
Grade 1 curricula should include oral instruction in Standard Arabic
First graders must regularly practice individual letters and combinations
Time should be slotted in class to read longer passages in early grades
Improve the appearance of textbooks
Revision of curriculum should be undertaken as per research findings
Conjugations of most common verb forms should be taught
Systematic learning of Standard Arabic grammar