Just a quick appraisal of the return of ITV1's popular reality entertainment show, I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here (IACGMOOH). It was a 90-minute special to kick-off this eighth series, and I don't think you can fault this well-oiled show…It delivers what its audience want, and does so in a very entertaining way. First episodes of other reality shows (particularly Big Brother) are rather tedious affairs, but Celebrity benefits from having recognizable faces (well, mostly), and gets a move on with the good stuff. There was the obligatory skydive and water crossing into camp, a bushtucker challenge involving transparent boxes suspended over a ravine (with bugs, natch), slippery eels in a big container to grab, and the set-up for an early bug-eating challenge in "The I Scream Van" tonight. But really, as it's early days, I doubt any of the celebs will be starved enough to consider eating creepy crawlies, do you?
The mix of celebs was also fairly good: a gay ex-police chef (Brian Paddick), a footballer's wife (Carly Zucker), a faded TV presenter (Dani Behr), a matriarchal old celeb (Esther Rantzen), an American actor who has no idea who anyone is (Star Trek's George Takei), an ex-EastEnder (ubercockney Joe Swash; above), a sports star (tennis player Martina Navratilova), a glamour model likely to bathe under a waterfall* (bosomy Nicola McLean), a shamed celeb (chat show host/politician Robert Kilroy-Silk) and a bland singer (ex-Blue star Simon Webbe.) I recognized 7 out of the 10, so that's good.
Indeed, the reason why Celebrity lures more recognizable faces than usual is because, like Strictly Come Dancing, it's one of the few reality shows that can have a beneficial effect on your career. It basically created Kerry Katona (yeah, thanks), resurrected Christopher Biggins (how did we survive without him?), and is responsible for the married double-acts of "Katie and Peter" (gah!), and Emma Griffiths and Matt Willis (oh, God).
Okay, so it pollutes the cultural waters for many years afterwards, but it does mean we can vote to perhaps see Nicola eat a penis (a crocodile's, obviously) and have spiders tipped over Kilroy-Silk's head. And that's perfect, family entertainment for these cold winter months. The continuing brilliance of Ant and Dec's comedy inserts are also far above their reality show contemporaries (gurning Davina, post-ironic Brucie, Dermot O'Dreary, etc.) So yes, while I won't be tuning in religiously every day, I'll keep abreast of the jungle news via tabloid osmosis, and it should provide a few nuggets of TV gold. I still giggle over Dean Gaffney's hilarious bushtucker trial.
16 November 2008
ITV1, 9pm
* She has already, fellas -- in a polka-dot bikini.
