“THE BIGGEST LOSER 9″ “910″

03/23/2010 (08:00PM – 10:00PM) (Tuesday)

The contestants head home to see their families and friends for the first time since coming to the ranch for a week filled with emotional reunions, a first date for one player and a marathon bike challenge with a cupcake twist on “The Biggest Loser: Couples” airing Tuesday, March 23 (8-10 p.m. ET) on NBC.

The contestants are elated to hear from host Alison Sweeney that they’ll be heading home to see all the loved ones they haven’t seen since coming to the ranch months before. The players will get a chance to show everyone what they’ve accomplished, but also be faced with the same temptations that brought them to the ranch in the first place. After the happy reunions are over, they also get a big surprise – a gift crate with a stationary bicycle and a DVD explaining the at-home temptation and challenge that awaits them.

Each contestant will ride the length of a full marathon (26.2 miles) on their new stationary bike – and they are also provided with a temptation in the form of 48 mini-cupcakes. For every 100 calorie cupcake a contestant may choose to eat, they can apply five minutes to the final ride time of any other player during the bike challenge – a twist that could have a dramatic impact on the outcome of the game. While loved ones cheer on each contestant, family members keep in touch via cell phone to keep track of how everyone else is doing and update each player as they go. It’s a nail-biting race to the finish, with the ultimate winner getting $10,000.

Also this week, one contestant goes on their first date, while another player struggles to focus on his weight loss regimen while dealing with a loved one’s illness. Later, after grueling last chance workouts with trainers Bob Harper and Jillian Michaels, a weigh-in back at the ranch reveals how they all did at home before another contestant is eliminated and sent home for good.

“The Biggest Loser: Couples” is a production of Reveille LLC, 25/7 Productions and 3Ball Productions. Ben Silverman (NBC’s “The Office,” “Ugly Betty“), Dave Broome (“A Model Life with Petra Nemcova,” “Tsunami Aid: A Concert of Hope”), JD Roth (“Age of Love,” “Beauty and the Geek”), Todd A. Nelson (“Unan1mous,” “Beauty and the Geek”) and Mark Koops (“Breakthrough With Tony Robbins,” “Shear Genius“) serve as executive producers.

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Source: NBC Press Release