Senhora Dona Lady
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| Senhora Dona Lady | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Reality television |
| Presented by | |
| Country of origin | Portugal |
| Original language | Portuguese |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Frederico Ferreira de Almeida |
| Production locations | Paço de Arcos, Lisbon |
| Production company | FremantleMedia |
| Original release | |
| Network | SIC |
| Release | September 16 – September 27, 2005 |
Senhora Dona Lady was a Portuguese reality television series broadcast by SIC. The series was an adaptation of the US format He's a Lady produced by Evolution Film & Tape for TBS. The series premiered on September 16, 2005, and concluded on September 27, 2005. Filmed at the Valentim de Carvalho studios in Paço de Arcos, the series depicted eleven men in competition for a €50,000 reward over who could, as in the original version, pass themselves off as a more convincing woman. The contestants were required to cross-dress and adopt feminine personas. The Portuguese version was set in a house, similar to formats such as Big Brother, and was presented by Herman José.[1]
Senhora Dona Lady was one out of two LGBT-themed programs SIC premiered that month, the other being Esquadrão G, a local adaptation of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. Low ratings, coupled by the network changing its director of programming, caused the format to end less than two months after its premiere, which was originally scheduled to last for ten weeks (by contrast the original version had six episodes).
The reality show depicted eleven men in competition for a reward of €50,000.[1] All contestants were subjected to pass themselves off as women, starting their conversion at a prolific hairdresser in Lisbon. The contestants, who adopted feminine personas, were required to move into a dwelling known as "Casa das Bonecas" (corresponding to the original's The Doll House).[1] In an effort to "live as a lady," during the first week alone, the contestants were taught about shaving, make-up and hair styling.[2] A contestant was eliminated from the competition each week at the discretion of a celebrity panel, which included presenter Ana Marques, former footballer Oceano, and fashion producer Ana Guerra.[2]