“Hello darlings!” trills an immaculately coiffed Elizabeth Hurley, looking like she’s just paused for a breather during a Tatler photoshoot. But what’s this? Hurley has “some bad news” to share. “Are you ready? Here goes… I’m. Dead.”
Fear not, darlings, the real Hurley is very much alive, kicking and sharing improbably radiant swimwear photos on Instagram. But for the purposes of The Inheritance, the high camp, high concept reality show from Channel 4, she is The Deceased, a glamorous lady of the manor who has just shuffled off this mortal coil (if you can shuffle in six inch heels, that is), leaving behind a vast fortune.
Thirteen contestants have arrived at her ancestral seat, hoping to grab a share of The Deceased’s cash. To do so, though, they’ll have to compete in some ridiculous tasks to gradually release the money; at the end of each episode, they must decide between them who most deserves to take each section of the inheritance. Oh, and for some reason, Rob Rinder is on hand to oversee proceedings as her “trusted legal counsel”, The Executor.
If you hadn’t already figured it out, The Inheritance is very much Channel 4’s play to capture Traitors fans during the lull between seasons (it’s even co-produced by Studio Lambert, which is behind the BBC hit). Rinder is cast in the Claudia Winkleman role, his purpose being to lurk in the background during the tasks while dishing out the odd one liner, then to keep the discussion on track when the contestants must choose who should be the “prime beneficiary” for each episode. And the stately home is essentially a slightly more Downton Abbey variation on the Traitors castle.
The early signs are promising. The contestants gather to watch The Deceased’s first set of instructions “from beyond the grave”, a taped message delivered by Hurley, who is decked out in furs and sequins and clutching a glass of rosé, a nod to the first task’s wine-making theme. Hurley performs as if she’s been possessed by the spirit of a Charlotte Tilbury TV ad, all eyebrow raises and conspiratorial grins as she delivers a script that is almost entirely based around puns that only work through her sheer aplomb. “I may have expired, but luckily my wine hasn’t!” is just one not-so vintage example.
But once The Deceased has signed off with a cheery “ciao for now”, things take a bit of a nosedive. We don’t have enough time to get to know the contestants before they’re whisked off for a task (although Pat, a 75-year-old chess coach from Yorkshire, almost immediately inspires affection with her deadpan declaration that “if I look that good when I’m dead, I’ll be thrilled”). The challenge itself is convoluted – something to do with retrieving wine bottles from a lake, and tasting wine from Hurley’s cellar? – and the emphasis on being seen to be the most deserving in the group quickly devolves into Apprentice-style posturing, then outright mud-slinging.
Too much time is devoted to these bizarre but ultimately not particularly interesting tasks. The same thing happens in episode two, when the contestants must herd sheep and shovel manure, a farming challenge that seems to have been dreamed up purely so the dearly departed Hurley can say that she likes “a roll in the hay”. So by the time we reach the “division ceremony”, where the contestants must nominate themselves to be the “prime beneficiary” and their co-stars must form a “jury” to pick out who gets the money they’ve earned, it feels rushed, even anti-climactic.
Sure, there’s a certain schadenfreude in seeing some of the more hapless contestants nominate themselves to be the deserving winners, despite having contributed precisely zero to the task. In episode two, entrepreneur James puts himself forward, after spending the entirety of the challenge looking petrified by various farm animals (despite asking to be the team leader, on the basis of… being from Somerset). But on the whole, the “ceremony” lacks a proper sense of drama or intrigue, despite Rinder’s best efforts. Some players have worked out a way to play tactically (by backing their pal to be the beneficiary, in the hope that said pal will then share some of the money with them as a gesture of goodwill), but it all feels a bit too forced to be truly gripping.
If only there was a bit more for Hurley to do. She might be playing dead, but in the first couple of episodes at least, she’s the only thing keeping The Inheritance alive.
