IT is possibly the wackiest idea yet for a reality show.
An exact replica of Scarlett Moffatt’s semi-detached home in County Durham has been built in a remote corner of Africa so the Gogglebox star and her family could live alongside a cattle-herding tribe.
For Channel 4’s The British Tribe Next Door, the house was painstakingly recreated to look as close to The Moffatts’ home as possible — with 20,000 of their possessions, from beds to scatter cushions — taken from Bishop Auckland to Namibia.
Scarlett was blown away the minute she stepped inside the building. In the four-part show, she says: “It’s like our house has been upended in a tornado and it’s just landed here.
“This is probably one of the most bonkers, bizarre and amazing things we’re ever going to do in our lives.”
The traditional Himba village of Otjeme in Northern Namibia, is home to 100 semi-nomadic villagers living off their cattle, goats and homegrown vegetables in the scorching desert.
They’re usually cut off from the outside world, but tribe chief Tijuone agreed to let Channel 4 build an exact replica of the Moffatt’s two- storey semi in the UK on the doorstep of their settlement.
It was constructed in Southern Africa, then dismantled and rebuilt in Otjeme.
The building was plumbed with running water from a specially-constructed tank, and electricity was provided from a generator. It even had WiFi and on-demand TV.
The aim was to give the Himba an authentic experience of British culture, just as the Moffatts would get a true taste of African village life.
Scarlett, her mum Betty, dad Mark, younger sister Ava-Grace and grandmother Christine were looked after by a trio of villagers — head heardsman, Mboki, his wife Ueripanga, and mum of three, Kandisiko, who all became firm friends with the family.
They invited them into their huts made of tree branches and cow dung plaster, with little more than animals skins as bed clothes.
In return, the Himba people also got a look around the family’s recreated semi — but despite it being comparatively luxurious, the tribe were underwhelmed.
Scarlett said: “They weren’t envious of us. They HATED our home. Straight away, they said: ‘You can stay, but please get rid of that house – it’s SO ugly.’”
And though the women wore nothing but animals skins and jewellery, they weren’t jealous of Scarlett’s huge collection of shoes and clothes.
One bewildered tribeswoman said: “They’re all just for you? Goodness, we don’t keep lots of clothes like that. I find it strange for one person to have so many things.”
Reality queen Scarlett — who made her name on Gogglebox, before winning I’m A Celeb in 2016 — said: “In our society we are so self-obsessed, aren’t we? I thought: ‘Oh they’re gonna love everything we have, and think its amazing — and it was the opposite.
“They just thought my clothes were ugly. And they made me realise we are always trying to look completely different to how we actually look.
“As women they looked at themselves so differently. They see boobs as something they feed their children with — they’re not sexualised at all.”
The tribeswomen’s relaxed attitudes to their image had a profound effect on Scarlett, who has previously struggled with body issues and has suffered years of bullying and trolling over her looks.
While filming, the Gogglebox star was persuaded by the Himba women to try their traditional clothes.
This led to Scarlett, 29, wearing little more than a few scraps of goat skin — which has changed the way she viewed herself for ever.
She said: “That moment changed my thought process. They pointed to my tummy and said: ‘We wish we had rolls like you!’
"In their society if you’re bigger, you’re stronger. And I thought: ‘Yeah, you’re right.’
“I get trolls saying I’m ugly or fat — I get death threats. I kept my bra and shorts on when I put on their tribal clothes, but even that was a big deal for me.
“But when I did it I wasn’t thinking about anyone else any more. Suddenly, I felt empowered.”
There was also a big difference between the Moffatts and the Himba in attitudes to sex — which provided one of the experience’s lighter moments.
At one point, tribe member Ueripanga, who became good pals with Betty, took a shine to Mark — and asked Betty if she fancied a bit of husband-swapping.
Scarlett said: “Ueripanga is so funny. We had little Gogglebox and prosecco nights with her. And one night she said: ‘I really fancy Mark and I feel like we should maybe swap husbands!’
“But obviously my mam said: ‘This isn’t how we do it where we live — we don’t run our family like that.’ And Ueripanga said: ‘Oh that’s lovely, but that would never work here.’”
Scarlett, who is dating policeman Scott Dobinson, also met a woman who had a husband and FOUR other male lovers. But she wasn’t converted to the idea.
She said: “It just wouldn’t work where I live, but it works for them. And do you know what? They seem happy enough. And who am I to judge?
“They explained to me that when they have multiple partners as a woman it makes them feel like they’re attractive.
“But to me, when my boyfriend just wants me and only me, that makes me feel attractive. They were like: ‘We get it, but it just sounds a bit boring.’”
At one point, Betty got the chance to join Ueripanga in a spot of cleaning in her hut where she brushed sand and leaves out of the family home.
Then the tribeswoman went inside the Moffatt’s house where she seemed bewildered by Betty putting clothes in the washing machine that didn’t appear dirty. The iron and ironing board seemed just as pointless.
Meanwhile, the Himba males put Mark to work herding their cattle. But on his first attempt the men were left rolling their eyes as he managed to lose their most prized possessions.
Not everyone is a fan of the unusual show concept, with one eminent British anthropologist saying: “I’m amazed this kind of programme can still be commissioned”. And one critic slammed the show as “gimmicky, exploitative reality TV”.
But show bosses have showed their appreciation for hosting the Moffatts by building a solar-powered borehole, less than ten minutes walk from Otjeme, delivering a clean water supply for the village.
And Scarlett is just as grateful that she was given the opportunity to live alongside the Himba, from whom she and her family learned so much.
She said: “I thought they were going to be more different to us than they were but we made friends straight away. We learned so much from them to the point we’ve changed how we live on a daily basis.”
- The British Tribe Next Door is in on C4 at 9.15pm on Tuesday.
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