A nightclub hostess, a lingerie model, and a party girl with a Nicki Minaj tattoo on her thigh sound like your run-of-the-mill reality TV contestants
But far from shacking up in a party pad or being packed off to a plush villa in the Med with a line-up of hunks, Sarah, Gabbi and Paige were dispatched to a remote convent in rural Norfolk – with only the resident nuns for company.
They’re among the five twenty-somethings promised a ‘spiritual journey’ by Channel 5 TV execs as part of a social experiment, who were taken aback to find themselves holed up at the Daughters of the Divine Charity convent in Swaffham, near King’s Lynn.
Cameras follow the every move of Gabbi, Rebecca, Paige, Tyla and Sarah as they turn their back on modern life and unleash mayhem at the East Anglian convent in Bad Habits, Holy Orders, which airs later this month.
The four-part documentary will chart the girls’ transition from booze-fuelled nights out to a life of piety as they forgo social media and clash with the elderly nuns, some as old as 85, who are charged with looking after them.
The new series from Channel 5 is the first of its kind in over a decade, and is reportedly the result of a year of negotiations with the Catholic Church in Rome
L-R Gabbi, Sister Anna, Tyla and Sister Renata take part in a spot of tennis. Lingerie model Gabbi later reveals she has changed her life mantra to: ‘What would the nuns do?’
The girls – among them a lingerie model, a night club hostess and a professional dancer – waste no time in resuming their usual antics with wild nights out in Swaffham, while the nuns stay at home according to The Times.
But, the newspaper reports, the party-loving millennials find unexpected solace in life at the nunnery, despite it being a world away from their day-to-day life of selfies, smartphones and makeup, and forge close bonds with their hosts.
Swapping booze-fuelled nights out for community outreach and charity work at homeless centres, the girls soon come to realise there may be more to life than partying and taking selfies.
Rebecca enjoys a sing-song with her hosts during her first week at the convent. She undergoes what is arguably the biggest transformation out of the five participants
Sister Michaela, Sister Danuta and Rebecca enjoy a musical session in the convent. Inspired by the nuns, Rebecca later decides to swap clubbing for college
Sober nights in playing board games with the Sisters is a far cry from their usual boozy nights out back home, but the girls forge close bonds with their hosts
Plot twist: The party-loving millennials find unexpected solace in life at the nunnery, a world away from their day-to-day life of selfies, smartphones and makeup
Now that’s an entrance! The girls arrive in flesh-flashing mini skirts, thigh-high boots and suitcases full of clothes, but struggle to forgo home comforts like their smartphones
One participant, lingerie model Gabbi, tells The Times’ Helen Rumbelow she has since swapped her life mantra from ‘What would Kim Kardashian do?’ to ‘What would the nuns do?’.
Another, former nightclub hostess Sarah, said she felt the happiest she had ever been during her time at the convent.
She revealed: ‘Everyone in this generation is chasing social media and ego boosts, but I felt so serene. I felt so at home.’
Life of piety: The new Channel 5 series is the first of its kind in over a decade, and is reportedly the result of a year of negotiations with the Catholic Church in Rome
Transition: Swapping booze-fuelled nights out for community outreach and charity work at homeless centres, the girls decide there may be more to life than partying and taking selfies
Tyla, along with fellow participants, formed a close bond with the nuns during her time in the convent. Some were inspired to give up their hard partying ways and turn their lives around
The new series is the first of its kind in over a decade, and is the result of a year of negotiations with the Catholic Church in Rome.
Moved by her experience, lingerie model Rebecca swears off clubbing on leaving the convent and returns to college to do a healthcare qualification. Another girl takes up volunteering while a third gets a tattoo of a crucifix, The Times reports.
Bad Habits, Holy Orders starts on Thursday October 19, 10pm on Channel 5