The Belfast doctor shared his “surreal” experience with his American audience by attending a Bridgeton-style dating show and representing Northern Ireland.
Dr. Tamer “Tim” Hatem is one of 19 men who participated in the new reality show The Courtship, which is currently being broadcast in the United States.
The 28-year-old was born in London and raised in Egypt before deciding to make NI his home.
Speaking on Belfast Live, Tim said: “I finished Liverpool Medical College – when I was there I had many Irish friends and when you graduate you will be able to apply to many hospitals in the UK.
“A lot of my friends tried to convince me to come to Belfast and I thought they were a lot better, so I thought I’d give it a try.
“I applied and here I am again after five years.”
Tim has been in Northern Ireland for five years, working for A&E in Craigawon, Daisy Hill, Royal, Collaine and Mater – and was also a front-line worker during the Corovirus pandemic.
Described as “Bridgetton Meets Bachelor”, The Courtship is a dating program of the genre, and it follows licensed “voters” hoping to win a guardianship covenant contest with Mrs. Nicole Remy.
Unfortunately, the show is not currently taking place in the UK and is only available on the American Peacock platform.
Tim explained, “They wanted to go back in time, nothing like Love Island, they wanted it to be more direct and romantic, they wanted it to be more subtle.
“Before we were in solitary confinement before the show, they even taught us etiquette and calligraphy lessons, because we all had to write his letters before we actually met him.
“He had his family and we were all different suitors and we should all try to stand out so we can get his attention and win him over romantically.”
He was called to attend the show, but although he wasn’t sure what to expect, he decided to leave and travel to York last summer to attend Howard Castle.
Tim said the whole experience was “surreal,” and he had never done anything like this in his life before.
“It was very strange because they take your phones away and you don’t have internet connection or time – you don’t have the right to use your watch, which is a bit weird,” he said.
“They give you these costumes to wear. There’s a green sash under my chin in my costume and I was told they were doing this because I lived in Northern Ireland because they really wanted me to picture it here – Americans love the Irish.”
“The interesting thing is that you are really trying to compete with this woman and there are a lot of guys out there.
“I didn’t really like that part of her because it was almost as if I had a hard time talking to her and I don’t think that’s the best way to start a romance.”
Tim was happy to be able to share more about life in Northern Ireland with an American audience before joining the show as he is proud to call it his home.
He added, “It’s really nice. The weather here is terrible, but how friendly it is is all that makes it so familiar.”
“Especially when you work in hospitals, my job is to talk to patients and nurses and it’s a very human and interactive job and it’s completely tailored to the people you work with.
“It’s more fun here and that’s what kept me going.”
Other contestants joked that Tim chose focus after living in NI, but he admitted he chose some of our phrases like “wee” and “crick.”
Although he’s not available to stream here, Tim hopes that once the series airs in the US, he’ll be hired in the UK for any real-life dating enthusiast.
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Source: Belfastlive
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
