Freshers' Week - or Welcome Week in some parts of the UK - is by far the most tumultuous seven days of any university student's life.
A magical and occasionally disorientating time when parties are rife, fancy dress is a necessity and, for better or for worse, you find your squad for life.
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Whether you swerved uni or you still look back on your first week with hazy fondness, now you can go back to halls to relive (or try and remember) those feelings from your treasured twenties with the new reality TV show ReFreshers Week.
Strongbow and MTV have teamed up to give us the star-studded five-part series that provides eight strangers the chance to discover new places and people whilst fearlessly taking on a number of challenges, with one ultimate winner bagging a £25,000 prize.
Speaking to LADbible, Friday Night Dinner actor and comedian Tom Rosenthal, who hosted ReFreshers Week as the university 'dean' alongside reality queen herself, Gemma Collins, described the show as a fusion between Geordie Shore and The Apprentice.
"The producers have blended existing formats in a really exciting way...if I had to describe it as a hangover food (which, in his defence, we asked him to do), as it's a fusion of styles, it's maybe a full-English breakfast Pho broth?' laughed Tom.
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"So you have the same challenge-based camaraderie of a competition show blended with the fact that they're all living in a house just like students." In other words, expect plenty of friendships, romance and conflicts.
Freshers' Week makes for the perfect setting for a reality series, as the participants are thrown back to a time when the biggest decision was whether to spend that last fiver on a pint of Strongbow or food for the next week. "So actually what we've asked them to do on a reality show is not that different from the sort of horrible, tumultuous, brilliant experience that you go through during freshers week," mused Tom.
To keep the stakes high over the competitive aspect, Tom, Gemma and an all-star line-up of celeb guests - including rapper Lady Leshurr, DJ Jodie Harsh, TV personality Charlotte Dawson and comedians London Hughes and Ed Gamble - handed out tasks that were somewhat different to banging out, say, a 3,000 word essay on Freudian literary theory.
One of these included some panicked cramming before a presentation all about the great GC, which appears to have had a profound effect on the reality queen - who revealed she didn't go to uni herself: "As a natural diva, I absolutely love being in charge as a professor and I'm considering speaking to the Uni of Essex about launching an official degree in GC," she said. No doubt she'd dedicate an entire module in how to handle 'all that candy'.
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Alongside the competitive chaos, expect plenty of heartfelt moments between the cast: a slew of 25-30 year olds, half of whom have already been to uni, half of whom haven't. For those who haven't, starring on ReFreshers Week proved to be a life-changing experience. Gareth Jones, 30, a bartender and self-confessed "party starter" enjoyed the challenge of breaking out of his comfort zone and melding with groups of people while living in halls.
Similarly for Shan Beckford, 25, the highly driven social influencer who was also experiencing freshers week for the first time, it was a learning curve, as the contestants were made to fend for themselves while taking part in high-octane competitions and tasks. "It shows you what you're made of," said Shan.
When it came to fitness instructor Jordan Jackson, 27, who studied Music Tech at Huddersfield University in 2012, being on the show allowed him to have a second go at those essential seven days - and a significant personal journey.
"The first uni experience was tricky for me because I'm transgender and that was before my hormones and my surgery," explained Jordan. "That's the reason I came on this show - this time round I felt like I could be 100% myself and be a bit silly. It was an incredible experience."
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When questioned about the hosts, the answer was unanimous: Tom turned out to be the best dean any student could ask for. "I won't say who, but some of the girls had a crush on him," laughed Shan.
For Tom, ReFreshers Week was a completely new adventure compared with his mainstays Friday Night Dinner and Plebs in terms of the production and planning. But he and Gemma play off each other like the perfect chalk and cheese duo.
"In that sense, me playing off Gemma was no different than me playing off Grumio (Ryan Sampson) in Plebs," said Tom. "Gemma knows what she's doing - you can film her and she will always give you entertainment value."
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By teaming up with MTV for the show, Strongbow has reached its goal by giving the cast and crew, as well as the viewers, the opportunity to wistfully relive those memories from your twenties, whether you went to uni or chose a different path.
For the contestants, ReFreshers Week is wrapped up in an important message of acceptance that's applicable everywhere - from the sofas of uni halls and beyond. "The best takeaway from the show is to be yourself and don't try to fit in," explained Gareth. "Be who you are and then people will be attracted to that - and those are the people who are going to be friends for life because it's genuine."
ReFreshers Week is an unmissable watch, and a show that contains all of the entertaining reality beats while breaking free from the same dating show formula we see time and again. Ultimately, it's a refreshing new TV show format, and one that offers a totally new viewing experience.
"We can't wait for people to see it," said Tom. "Let's hope they enjoy their full English breakfast pho broth. Although admittedly that does sound disgusting."
ReFreshers Week presented by Strongbow launches on Monday 24 September at 10pm on MTV. To be in with a chance of having a favourite memory refreshed, head to Strongbow UK Facebook page and share a memory with #RefreshYourStatus
Featured Image Credit:Topics: Gemma Collins, MTV