I’m taking refuge from Celebrity who’s who
YES, it’s that time of the year again. The short festival which gives me yet another reason to switch off the telly and go and read a good book. I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! arrives on our screens on Sunday.
Already, it seems to have generated more columninches and media coverage than the COP26 climate summit.
Although I won’t actually watch any of the programmes, it does generate a party game in the Lloyd family, with the younger members of the clan challenging me to identify the so-called ‘celebrities’ taking part.
This year, I managed to surprise myself and name five of the contestants.
Louise Minchin, broadcaster and EX-BBC Breakfast host, was an easy one as my early-morning viewing of choice has always been the BBC – fear of seeing Piers Morgan has always kept me off the ITV morning show.
Richard Madeley, TV presenter and journalist, was another score – although I am more familiar with him as Judy Finnigan’s husband than for anything he has done in his own right. As a big Olympics and Paralympics fan (regular readers will have been bored by my Games Tales before) then Matty Lee (Tom Daley’s diving competition partner) and parasport gold medallist Kadeena Cox were also simple picks. Finally, I was able to recognise Dame Arlene Phillips, the choreographer, recalling her as the founder of British dance troupe Hot Gossip. As for the other contestants, well they didn’t feature on my A-list celebrity radar. Actually, they didn’t even feature on my B-list and C-list celebrity radar – and it was left to my children to explain who is who. Snoochie Shy is a Radio 1Xtra DJ, probably not in the Tony Blackburn class. Naughty Boy is a music producer, by all accounts, but probably not familiar with Rachmaninoff. David Ginola is billed as a ‘football legend’, probably a legend in his own lunchtime and not up there with proper ‘legends’ such as Mr G Bale. Frankie Bridge is a pop star and presenter, apparently, and part of Loose Women, which boggled my ancient brain a bit. And Danny Miller is an Emmerdale
TV soap star – a fact which makes him invisible to me as I haven’t watched the Yorkshire ‘drama’ since the days of Archibald Seth Armstrong.
Apparently the contestants will be paid anything between £30,000 and £500,000 for their stints at Gwrych Castle, near Abergele.
Living conditions will, by all accounts, be pretty spartan.
But, judging by the preview publicity pictures, I’ve stayed in army transit camps that were more uncomfortable, colder and more of a risk to longterm health.
The programme will, of course, bring a welcome cash boost to the north Wales economy as there are an estimated 500 production staff working on the show. Yes, 500!
My already-boggled brain struggles to understand why the show needs 500 production staff. I’m told the food they serve on the show hardly requires the presence of Michelinstar chefs.
As you’d expect, I launched into one of my regular rants on the waste of TV licence money – a moan which was cut short by the rest of the family
pointing out that this is an ITV production. Happily, for me of course, any further debate about I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! will not be needed.
The show becomes a banned topic of conversation the minute it starts.
I’ve been meaning to finish the door wedge of a book that is Don Quixote for some time.
Please email me when I’m A Celebrity’s over for another year…
Judging by the pictures, I’ve stayed in army transit camps that were more uncomfortable, colder and more of a risk to health...