This study traces the evolution of the various categories of "factual entertainment" programmes which have come to dominate our screens over the last decade. The book focuses on issues such as the changes in the braodcasting environment which have given rise to such programmes, the relationshp they have to other popular TV genres and the huge appeal that shows such as "Big Brother" have for contemporary audiences. The book also seeks to measure the cultural significance of these new formats. Do they reflet a more general cultural malaise or should we measure their popularity more in terms of the changing expectations which modern audiences bring to TV entertainment? The first part of the book considers the origins of these new factual/documentary formats and assesses the institutional factors which have promoted their growth. Later chapters focuse on the inexorable rise of the docu-soap and reality game-docs. "Staging the Real" aims to be an informative, stimulating book written in a lucid, accessible style, exploring an important phenomenon in recent broadcasting history. It should be of relevance to all television and media studies students, both at undergraduate and sixth-form level.