Big Brother returns
Tonight, more Big Brother shenanigans begin with a re-tweaked format that sees what are being described as "pure prodigies" take to the stage with various stars lending their hand. OK, if you insist, but really Channel 4, rather than acting like an addict who can't give up, you should have given us all a rest.
C4 has lined up 12 young and gifted, mostly 19- to 21-year-olds including a fine artist, a boxer, a violinist, a Mobo-nominated songwriter and car racing champion.
Celebrity Big Brother host Dermot O'Leary has already put the boot in (sort of before putting his foot in it) and said it was a bad decision to change the show's format away from 'Celebrity Big Brother' after the race row involving Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty who was bullied by fellow contestants Jade Goody, Danielle Lloyd and Jo O'Meara.
"I thought it was a mistake," he told BBC Radio 1's Newsbeat. "I still think it's a good show and I don't think anyone should apologise for what happened last year. It conjured up debate and asked serious questions."
Hang on a second, Dermot? Surely, someone should apologise, as they did do.
Anyway, 'Big Brother: Celebrity Hijack' starts tonight and it sounds just like ordinary 'Big Brother' without the certifiable weirdos with fake tans, breasts and generally phoniness, which begs the question what's the point?
Famous names, including Matt Lucas and Joan Rivers, will set tasks, invent rules and talk to contestants in the diary room.
The logic is that rather than cast people who are desperate to be on television, they've gone out of their way to cast people who probably wouldn't normally apply… but applied all the same. Well, I suppose there is a £50,000 prize to think of and where else is a conceptual artist going to get that kind of cash?
