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The Dark Side of Fame with Piers Morgan

The Dark Side of Fame with Piers Morgan
  • Posted at 12:52pm
  • 26 September 2008
  • by AlisonGraham-RT
  • 1 comment

The triteness of The Dark Side of Fame with Piers Morgan (Mondays BBC1) is mesmerising. Week after week it's like taking a bath in the banal, something that should be horrible, but which is actually rather soothing. "Hey, you, person watching at home," The Dark Side of Fame says, "you think your life is tough but you haven't been married four times like Jim Davidson and you didn't torpedo your TV career by making homophobic remarks on a reality show." We at home, on the other hand, merely wave a wearily dismissive hand as we ask, "Who the hell cares?"

On 22 September Morgan interviewed Jason Donovan, now all fresh-faced and clear-eyed after shrugging off a life-threatening cocaine addiction. Donovan was honest and likeable but, as with Davidson (who wasn't at all likeable), it was asking a lot to summon up any strong feeling. The wick of Donovan's fame burned down a long, long time ago, so what we got was a straightforward story of a man who struggled with personal trauma.

There was the usual Greek chorus of pop commentators - and a baleful Pete Waterman - adding what was presumably meant to be context to Donovan's fall from grace. Actually, it was during these bits that I began to feel sorry for Donovan. I mean, I wouldn't take kindly to Rick Sky and Miranda Sawyer holding forth on my shortcomings.

But the real fulcrum of the episode, as always with The Dark Side of Fame, was Piers Morgan (his name's in the title, for heaven's sake). With his omnipresent smirk he tickled away at the already well-documented troughs of Donovan's life, including a very public cocaine-induced seizure and his Pyrrhic libel victory over The Face magazine.

Morgan wasn't incisive, merely charmless. Getting people to recount what we already know isn't difficult - Donovan didn't have to be coaxed; he was more than happy to discuss his past problems.

It ended with Morgan asking Donovan for a hug (they'd had a two-cheek luvvie kiss at the start of the interview). So, then, this wasn't a grilling after all, it was a cosy chat. And what was the point of that?

**

Catch up with The Dark Side of Piers Morgan on BBC iPlayer

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Comments

  • Posted on 30 September 2008
  • at 8:26pm
  • by Cass

The interview with Tracy Emin must have been one of the easiest she has ever done.

Morgan, in his usual reactionary tabloid (and yes, decidedly charmless) guise, tried to rib her, get her to squirm with embarrassment at the amount of money she has earned over the years for what he tediously referred to as the kind of 'rubbish' a five-year-old could produce.

Oh, dear, oh dear! How very unimaginative. Which is just what Tracy must have thought. She wasn't having any of it; she just laughed and smiled indulgently at his jibes; and frankly who could blame her? She's had a life of defending herself and her art. And if she's served up with such feeble attempts at getting her to react, then why should she bother? She has nothing, but nothing, to prove.

So we were left very much none the wiser for wasting a half hour or so on this empty and unintelligent interview.

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