Too Hot to Handle: ‘Hidden cameras’ used to prevent masturbation on chaste Netflix hit

Hit dating show saw single contestants attempting to not have any physical intimacy with their fellow housemates

Netflix’s dating reality show Too Hot to Handle prevented contestants from masturbating by placing “hidden cameras” in the showers and toilets, one of its contestants has claimed.

The hit series, which was released on the streaming site last week, saw contestants tasked with finding love without indulging in any physical contact with their fellow singletons. If contestants masturbated or became physically intimate, the show’s climactic cash prize would be reduced.

Contestant Bryce Hirschberg has now revealed that the show used “hidden cameras” to ensure no rules were broken.

“First thing, there were cameras everywhere,” Hirschberg told the Hollywood Raw podcast. “Even in the bathrooms, but it was just CCTV, so it was not for broadcast, the ones in the toilets. So, it was just to make sure that you weren’t doing that.

He continued: “They’re not recording, but they’re watching, essentially. It’s very awkward, man. I was holding it in a lot, bro!

“And the showers, there are hidden cameras everywhere and they rotate so they can catch everybody. If you’re in the shower for more than five minutes, you can see the camera start looking at you, like, ‘What’s he doing?’”

Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, show developer Laura Gibson also revealed that Too Hot to Handle was inspired by a 1992 episode of the classic sitcom Seinfeld. Titled The Contest, the episode saw the show’s ensemble competing with one another over who could remain celibate the longest.

“They all had to not masturbate for money, and they all cave,” Gibson recalled. “I said, there’s gotta be a show in there.”

Too Hot to Handle has proven to be a hit for Netflix, with bookies speculating that it will be bigger than Love Island.