Secret Story (occasionally referred to as Secret Story: La casa de los secretos) is a Spanish reality competition television show based on the original French series Secret Story and part of the franchise of the same name.
Like the original French version, although Secret Story is not a direct adaptation of the Big Brother franchise's format, created by producer John de Mol in 1997, the show has a similar concept while including its own game mechanics, and is also produced and owned by Endemol Shine Group/Banijay. The housemates are cut off from the outside world for ten to fifteen weeks in a house called "house of secrets", where every room is fitted with cameras. They have to keep a secret while trying to discover the other housemates' one.[1]
A group of contestants, selected from a previous casting for the competition, live together in a house designed for that purpose (which includes hidden rooms, secret doors, passages, the white room - from which they can watch their fellow contestants - or the clues room, while retaining other rooms characteristic of the original format, such as the confession room and common areas), where they are filmed by cameras and microphones 24 hours a day. The housemates are completely forbidden from any contact with the outside world, also cancelling television, radio, internet, music, books, or pencils, among other things of lesser importance. They can only receive psychological help if they wish to do so. The duration of the program is approximately 3 months.[2]
The participants have a secret to keep safe while trying to uncover their competitors' secrets through clues. Additionally, at the beginning of the season, a draw is held with 16 spheres, one of which contains 50,000 euros that will be awarded to one of the contestants - the one who proves to be the best investigator - without knowing it until the end of the competition. Thus, in relation to these two aspects, the contestant who believes they have guessed another's secret can activate the button of the cube (confession room) and present their allegations in the presence of "the voice," betting their sphere against the person whose secret they believe they know. At another time, both must face each other in private, where the accused has to justify themselves without revealing their secret. If, at the end of the ceremony, the accuser dares to confirm their hypothesis, they press the button again, but if they regret it because they think they have made a mistake, they do not press it, and there are no consequences. Then, if they are correct, they win the accused's sphere; otherwise, they lose theirs in favor of the latter. When a contestant is expelled without their secret being revealed, their sphere is put at stake through a test or left as an inheritance to the person of their choice.
"The voice" is an invisible character who can speak to the contestants at any time through the speakers and give them instructions. At the beginning of the game, this character imposes rules that the contestants must obey throughout the season if they do not want to be penalized. In addition, throughout the program, a phone appears from which "the voice" or the presenters themselves can offer privileges or counter-rewards to contestants who answer (immunity, direct nomination, etc.). "The voice" also has the ability to propose secret missions to one or more contestants, allowing them to obtain clues about their competitors' secrets.
Additionally, as an obligation, the contestants have different tasks to keep the house clean and must overcome weekly challenges proposed by the organization to earn money to buy food for the week. Each contestant receives a weekly budget to purchase food and other products, which will vary depending on their performance. The challenges are designed to test their teamwork skills.
Finally, each week, in a voting process, the contestants give the names of the housemates they want to see leave the house. Finally, those who obtain the highest score are nominated. After a week of waiting, the audience's decision is communicated, who have been voting to decide who should be expelled. At that moment, the chosen contestant must leave the house. An exclusive interview for the program then begins. The last person to remain in the house will be the winner of the 150,000 euros at stake.[3]
The first series premiered on 9 September 2021 and finished on 23 December 2021, running for 106 days. For the first time in the format's history, all housemates are celebrities. Throughout the game, all housemates have to keep a secret while trying to discover the other housemates' one.
A second series premiered on 13 January 2022,[4] and for the first time since Gran Hermano Revolution, Telecinco will do a series of the format with just civilian housemates.[5]