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Why I Love...I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!

Ant and Dec
  • Posted at 5:16am
  • 15 March 2007
  • by KateCoffey-RT
  • 2 comments

I love wildlife programmes. There's something about the survival-of-the-fittest law of the animal kingdom that, while fascinating to watch, makes it reassuring to be human. That's why I tune in to observe the behaviour of the species they call "celebrity" (sadly, far from endangered) dwelling in an antipodean jungle for three weeks of each year.

Here they have migrated, stripped of all essential amenities (ie their bi-weekly spray tan and lunch at the Ivy with their agent) to brave the elements and battle it out for the crown of king or queen of the jungle, or at least rejuvenate their flagging careers. All under celluloid scrutiny (an essential component in celebrity "I'm seen, therefore I am" success).

Yet, if you examine the trajectory of past winners, it's debatable just how much of a career face-lift this show actually offers:

And let's not forget, I'm a Celebrity? belongs to that dubious family of entertainment, the "reality show", which is something of a misnomer: it is "reality" subject to a contrived context and the wonders of editing and post-production.

And let's not forget, I'm a Celebrity? belongs to that dubious family of entertainment, the "reality show", which is something of a misnomer: it is "reality" subject to a contrived context and the wonders of editing and post-production.

So why do we watch? Well, it's a smarter format than ITV's summer alternative Love Island. The producers have finally cottoned on to the fact that people would rather watch celebs being buried in a rat-infested cesspit than see them bask in each other's self-congratulatory drool in a five-star resort in Fiji.

The Bushtucker Trial is a stroke of genius, let's face it. Effectively it gives us a licence to throw a collective pie in the face of the most irritating celeb du jour. There's something vaguely sadistic about it, but so what: it's a universal leveller between celebrity and consumer. In other words, if it weren't for us mere peasants buying into their vacuous over-exposed existence, they wouldn't have one. And what better way to underline this than voting to have them skydive into a crocodile-infested swamp while wrestling a python?

However, the main reason we watch I'm a Celebrity? is two-fold, pint-sized and Geordie. Despite the fact that Ant and Dec could probably still pass an audition at Byker Grove (L'Oréal should bottle their DNA and flog it as anti-ageing cream), they have a brilliantly subversive presenting style that aims straight for the celebrity jugular. It's infectious - a bit like being at school, giggling in class.

But ultimately, like any wildlife programme, it's reassuring to think we're different to animals yet intriguing when we see similarities. We'd probably faint and cry and whinge a bit too if we were out there dodging egos and enduring the creepy crawlies of the jungle. But that's enough about David Gest?

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Comments

  • Posted on 19 November 2008
  • at 10:55am
  • by Bernie

Me and my Partner both agree that Ant and Dec should both do I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here One Year.

  • Posted on 06 October 2008
  • at 10:46am
  • by jemma

i love ant and de cthey are so sexy ! x

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