It's 2013 and a new breed of reality TV shows is taking the UK by storm, sparked by the likes of The Only Way Is Essex, Made In Chelsea and Geordie Shore. More like fly-on-the-wall soaps than anything else, these shows made stars out of their cast members.

Hot on their heels, TV producers planned another show, this time set in Coventry. Titled 'Sent To Coventry' it would've offered a grittier, no-holds-barred version of those reality shows - but it never got made.

All that remains of this effort is the four-minute pilot clip that was used to try and secure a channel for the show, along with a bunch of defunct social media profiles. But at the time, it was huge news, drawing crowds of people to auditions and earning plenty of backlash.

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Hundreds turned out for the auditions at the S7ven nightclub in the city centre and people pulled out all of the stops for their chance to be on TV. A streaker ran up and down the queue, a man sang Japanese songs at producers - even a dog was entered for the show.

With the case chosen, they set about making their teaser clip that would eventually be leaked online. It became clear that Sent To Coventry wasn't going to be anything like the finely polished Made In Chelsea.

Some of the people who came to try their luck at national TV stardom.
Some of the people who came to try their luck at national TV stardom.

Starting with sweeping opera music and clips of London ("England - A country of beauty"), there's an abrupt cut to the queue at a sexual health clinic. One character says "If I could wrap Coventry up, it's C-O-V - Criminals Overly Fearless. Not fearless, no, that's an F".

Vomit on the steps of the Cathedral in broad daylight, tales of messy nights out, falling into bins - there was no high society here. Despite all of the drama and racy scenes that emerged in the released clip, it failed to secure an audience.

Part of that would've been the backlash, not least from the men of God at Coventry Cathedral who had to clean up after one of the characters. The Rev Canon Dr David Stone said at the time: "We are concerned about the self-destructive behaviour shown in the Sent to Coventry promotional clip and sadly understand that for some this type of programme is classed as entertainment.

“But for those of us who live and work in Coventry within the Cathedral Quarter we are aware of a great deal of work undertaken to help those in need and to promote Coventry as a historic city rich in stories of innovation, characters and the creation of a world-wide ministry in peace and reconciliation.”

Monarch the dog - no word on what the producers had planned for them.
Monarch the dog - no word on what the producers had planned for them.

Our modern-day Lady Godiva, Pru Porretta, said: “It seems awful to highlight things that could go on anywhere but are not the type of things that attract people to a city. They say any publicity is good publicity, but I feel quite saddened by it."

But the show's co-creator Johnny Rickard seemed unfussed, saying: “Coventry has had a lot of bad representation in the national press recently and I don’t think I’m doing that at all. It’s panto, an entertainment show. What people have seen is the result of four months work and a lot has changed since then."

Not everyone was against it, and a peek at their Twitter feed dating back to 2013 reveals a lot of excited fans and cast members eager for news on the full series. Retweets from fans include "Sent to Coventry is gunna be class", "People should loosen up a Lil & stop taking things so serious", and "Am I the only one that thinks @SenttoCov looks interesting to watch, and to see if we can spot anyone we know it lol :')".

But 10 years after those chaotic auditions, all that's left are memories. Imagine what might've been...

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