When it comes to reality TV shows, Don’t Tell The Bride ranks pretty highly on our list of favourites.

The programme sees the (often conveniently hapless) partner plan an entire wedding in just three weeks, with a budget of £14,000 and absolutely no input from their future bride. The drama writes itself: there’s often a wayward best man pushing for an elaborate stag do leaving no budget for the bridesmaids’ outfits, and there is always, always a meltdown over the choice of wedding dress.

Best of all are the inexplicably hellish venues, with memorable past locations including a theme park for a bride who hates rollercoasters, a casino in Vegas with no leftover money for the bride to invite any of her family and – of course – a banana boat, which the bride was forced to parasail onto. It’s compulsive viewing.

However, fans of the show were left outraged this weekend when one of the past contestants came forward to admit that, actually, the weddings are all fake – with couples asked to arrange a separate, legally binding ceremony in order to actually get married.

Don’t Tell The Bride fans, we have some devastating news...