John Rhode may only have been crowned the winner of The Biggest Loser back in December but it's already time for a new season of the NBC weight loss competition to take over our Tuesday nights... and this time, there is a major twist waiting in the wings!
Everyone arrives at the ranch in couples (husband/wife, grandma/granddaughter etc.) bar one pair of strangers - Emily and Kim, both former athletes (Kim was a pro wrestler who worked under the name Desire) - who are united together as the Pink Team.
The teams are:
Pink: Emily, 29, and Kim N, 38
Orange: Cassandra, 25, and her grandmother Nancy, 63
Blue: Joe, 38, and brother Mike, 41
Aqua: Adrian, 32, and sister Daphne, 37
Brown: Ben, 34, and brother Buddy, 42
Grey: Chism, 19, and father Mark, 43
Red: Chris 42, and husband Roy (a professional Santa Claus!), 63
Green: Conda, 24, and brother Jeremy, 22
Yellow: Gail, 57, and daughter Lauren, 26
Purple: Kimmy, 48, and daughter Megan, 21
As we already know, it's the No Excuses season, so everyone comes out with their reasons about why they are overweight: No time to work out (Orange Team's Nancy has 13 kids and 53 grandkids to look after!), come from a heavy family, food addict, emotional eater, there's always tomorrow...
But, before anyone can actually begin their journey at the ranch, they have to take part in a series of challenges, including a 40-yard relay race, and unfortunately for the Aqua Team, their time on the show ends before it even starts when they come in last.
The brother-and-sister team can only watch as the other teams enter the gates of the ranch and they remain shut on the outside. However, if they can lose 50lbs between them in just one month then they will have a second chance to get on campus.
For everyone else, it's on to campus where they meet their trainers - Bob Harper and Dolvett Quince - for the first time, and both make rather dramatic entrances, with Bob zooming up on a motorbike and Dolvett jumping out of a helicopter.
Now, the hard work can begin. The teams will have two hours to work out with both trainers at the gym and then they will have to pick which trainer to work with this season.
Bob and Dolvett get to work delivering some serious tough love in the gym, evidenced by Bob's refusal to allow Purple Team's Megan to stop her workout even though she is heaving, suggesting she is just pretending to be sick in order to stop: "Unless I see your dinner come out of your mouth that ain't puking. Back on the treadmill until that happens."
Unfortunately, elsewhere, it seems people are throwing up ("It's crazy, like a warzone!" says Chism) and it's an intense workout all-around. Professional Santa Roy ends up on his back on the floor with Bob giving him a pep talk about not having to prove himself to anybody at the ranch except himself and his wife.
"I liked you the minute I saw that beard," Bob adds. "I love Santa Claus. I'm on the good list, right? I'm nice!"
Elsewhere, Brown Team's Ben needs medical attention when he starts "blanking out" during his work-out. He tells us that he and his wife have nine children in their family and he loves every part of his life apart from his weight. Meanwhile, former Olympic weight lifter Emily wants to regain her past fitness.
Alison then arrives to deliver a bombshell - it's the season of No Excuses and No Partners! Everyone will be working solo with a different trainer and competing against each other. Understandably, the news is greeted with a definite lack of enthusiasm among most of the teams. Green Team's Jeremy points out he chose to apply with his sister and had wanted a partner there to get him through the tough times.
So, in the end we arrive at the following teams. Bob gets Gail, Chism, Megan, Chris, Jeremy, Joe, Ben, Emily and Cassandra, while Dolvett gets Roy, Conda, Mike, Kimmy, Lauren, Mark, Nancy, Kim and Buddy.
So, it's off to the gym for a Last Chance Workout where Dolvett becomes frustrated that his team doesn't seem to be working out as intensely as Bob's team. He points out some of the older members of his team, the frequent bathroom breaks, the injuries... "Everything possibly that could go wrong for this team has gone wrong already!"
Dolvett also takes time to talk to Kim, who has a sore knee, one-on-one. She says that she never felt physically better than when she was a professional wrestler. She explains that the weight gain began when she lost her fighting spirit. Her career was ended on live TV when she broke her back during a match, although she continued until the end of the match and pinned her contestant.
The First Weigh-In:
Bob's Black Team
Gail: 322 to 313lbs: -9lbs
Chism: 261 to 349lbs: -12lbs
Megan: 259 to 252lbs: -7lbs
Chris: 240 to 232lbs: -8lbs
Jeremy: 389 to 376lbs: -13lbs
Joe: 357 to 342lbs: -15lbs
Ben: 396 to 381lbs: -15lbs
Emily: 264 to 254lbs: -10lbs
Cassandra: 239 to 225lbs: -14lbs
Dolvett's Red Team
Roy: 306 to 292lbs: -14lbs
Conda: 294 to 285lbs: -9lbs
Mike: 358 to 345lbs: -13lbs
Kimmy: 219 to 210lbs: -9lbs
Lauren: 246 to 237lbs: -9lbs
Mark: 291 to 282lbs: -9lbs
Nancy: 217 to 212lbs: -5lbs
Kim: 252 to 239lbs: -13lbs
Buddy: 403 to 381lbs: -22lbs
So, Dolvett's Red Team wins the first weigh-in and the Black Team must retreat to the elimination chamber and decide which one of them will be going home. Cassandra has immunity with the highest percentage of weight loss.
Ben says that his fame and fortune lies at home and he didn't come on the show to win a game. He misses his family and says the team should send him home, and eventually that's what happens.
In a post-elimination update we learn Ben has now lost 50lbs since leaving the ranch and he's happy with his decision to go home to his wife (who is now pregnant) and family. He says he works out at his home gym and eats healthily. He's also incorporating his family in workouts.
