The Real Hustle

British television series

The Real Hustle is a BBC British television series created by Objective Productions, Alexis Conran and R. Paul Wilson for BBC Three. The show demonstrates confidence and magic tricks, distraction scams and proposition bets performed on members of the public by hosts Alexis Conran, Paul Wilson and Jessica Jane Clement. From series 10, entitled "New Recruits", Jazz Lintott and Polly Parsons joined the hustlers. Several episodes of the series state that all marks have been genuinely hoodwinked, and that any money lost is returned to them after filming. The BBC's website states that "The marks featured in the show have no idea they are being scammed. They have either been set up by friends and family or think they are taking part in a different TV show." Following the conclusion of series 11, presenter Alexis Conran tweeted that there were "no plans for season 12".

The show began as a spin off of the BBC show Hustle, owing to the original show's popularity. However, the series is now considered completely separate and the relationship between the shows is rarely mentioned. The Real Hustle is a factual entertainment series produced by Objective Productions for BBC Three. It features a team of hustlers—Alexis Conran, Paul Wilson and Jessica Jane Clement—as they try out some notorious scams on members of the public, filmed with hidden cameras. The aim is to reveal how scams work so that the viewer can avoid being ripped off. The participants featured in The Real Hustle are claimed to have been either set up by their family and friends or believe that they are participating in another television programme. After they have been "hustled for real", any money or property taken during the hustle is returned to them and their consent for the item to be broadcast is obtained.

In February 2011, it was reported that some of the "marks" in the programme were paid actors rather than innocent members of the public. Following a BBC investigation, the BBC Trust concluded that although some segments may have misled viewers as to the context of participants' involvement, and that those episodes should not be broadcast again, there was no serious breach of broadcasting guidelines. Although some "marks" had previously worked as actors or extras, they had not been hired for this purpose, and the production company had recruited participants through websites "popular with people keen to appear on television".

An Australian version of the show was aired on 14 September 2010 on Channel Nine Starring Adam Mada, Nicholas J Johnson & Claire Werbeloff. A Belgian version of the show was produced for VT4 by Toreador. A German version of the show was produced for Sat.1 by Granada Production. An Israeli version of the show was produced for Channel 10 by Armoza Formats and Buzz TV. A New Zealand version was aired 22 March on TV3. The show was produced by Endemol Southern Star. A Russian version of the show was produced for Ren TV by Red Planet. An American version of the show aired in 2008 on truTV, Real Hustle. The show was produced by Objective Productions.