Alternative Prime Minister battle: Sussex contestant reveals all after exit from Channel 4 show

Verity Pitts, from Rustington, was competing against 11 other contestants to be named the UK’s alternative Prime Minister.

The 22-year-old progressed through the first two rounds but was eliminated at the end of the third episode, broadcast last Tuesday night (October 11).

The episode saw Verity appointed as foreign secretary, and she, along with her party, had to react to serious mock situations - including what she would do if the government was hit by a cyber attack and if she would launch a covert marine mission in France.

Co-host, and judge, Alastair Campbell, accused Verity of making an ‘outright lie’ when she suggested hiding the truth in a conversation with the French ambassador.

“I had to turn the programme off halfway through because I was getting really frustrated,” Verity told SussexWorld.

Allatsir, who worked as Tony Blair’s spokesman and press secretary, said Verity’s lying ‘was catastrophic' before choosing her as the next contestant to leave the show, saying she didn’t have what it takes to be Prime Minister.

Speaking at the end of the programme, Verity said it was ‘brutal’ but she regretted her actions from the moment she made them, adding: “I would have liked to go further but I made decisions that were wrong.”

After watching the show back, Verity feels it was edited in a way that it ‘makes it look like I agree with lying in politics’, adding: “I really don’t. Lies are how politicians keep themselves in the job.

“I’m not saying the future of politics would function with lies. The reason a lot of us did the show is because we want to change that. We don’t want there to be lies in politics.

“We want a government you can trust and are representing British values rather than a politician’s ego. It’s edited in a way that it makes you look like the bad person.”

But Verity said she understood that the reality game show was broadcast ‘for entertainment purposes’.

She added: “Everyone is very naïve when you go into something like that. How much is going to be edited.

“What you don’t see is four days of filming cut into a 45 minute episode.

“At my own expense, I enjoyed it. It was good fun and such a cool experience. I’ve also got some really good friends out of it.”

Verity said she’s had a mixture of feedback on social media but is focusing on the positive comments from people, telling her she has ‘inspired them to learn more about politics’.

“I didn’t do it to get a following,” Verity said.

“I’ve done a huge amount of learning in the last couple of years with my health and understanding that life is for living.

“But also because I wanted to learn. Maybe going into reality television to learn about politics probably isn’t the best decision but it was such a good experience as well.

“There’s so much more that you didn’t quite see and there’s so much to me than what’s shown online or on the show.

“There’s so many things in the world that are so wrong - a tiny bit of editing in a TV show isn’t the worst thing in the world.

“We should be using our platform to make that change.”

Make Me Prime Minister continues on Channel 4 at 9.15pm on Tuesday, October 18.

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