Hermitage friends star in ITV2 and ITVX show Loaded in Paradise

Two friends had the “time of their lives” when they hot-footed it across Greece with a Gold Card loaded with thousands of Euros.

Jamie Benson, 22, and Guy Davis, 21, were taking part in ITV2’s latest reality TV show, Loaded in Paradise, which is currently airing on new streaming platform ITVX.

The duo – who went to Hermitage Primary School and The Downs School, in Compton, together – filmed the show in May, after Mr Benson was approached by the producers on social media.

The show features pairs of friends fighting and chasing the Gold Card across the Greek Islands. If you have it, you get to have the holiday of a lifetime, spending as much money as you want, on whatever you want. Until another pair hunts you down and steals it.

“It was the experience of a lifetime,” said Mr Benson, who now lives in Newbury and works for his family business.

“It was absolutely the best experience of my life and I am so glad I did it with Guy.”

Mr Davis, who lives in Hermitage and is currently studying at university, said it was a “crazy” experience, with the helicopter flights and “fancy hotels and fancy meals” not something they would ever have been able to do otherwise.

But like all reality TV shows there is drama and surprises along the way.

Every few days the whole group was brought together in a luxurious villa and it is here where things really start to heat up.

“There’s a lot of talk that I can’t be trusted and as a result there’s a lot of drama because of that,” said Mr Benson.

Mr Davis said he tried to avoid getting involved in any of that but he did have a relationship with one of the women in another pair during the show.

Mr Benson and Mr Davis were the first pair to get the Gold Card – after a race across Athens – but said that people may be disappointed at their inability to spend any money. Buying a huge flamingo wasn’t their best move when trying to avoid being found either, they admitted.

They did get the Gold Card back on a number of other occasions, however, and managed to quickly get into the habit of having unlimited funds.

The Newbury pair last for 14 of the 15 shows, which can all be seen now on ITVX and will air on ITV2 in the spring.