Thought for the
Week - 16th November 2007
 I
have just been glancing at that ridiculously stupid
programme,
I'm a celebrity, get me out of here!
I can't decide who are more stupid -
the two who host it, Ant and Dec, the people who produce it,
the contestants who take part in it, or the people who watch
it!
Making people suffer, as a contribution to entertainment
is not a new concept by any means. The Victorians, amongst
others, were fond of their 'sideshows' at fairs, although
the ridicule these poor people suffered was remunerated, and
their treatment did stop far short of 'torturing' the
subjects with the objects of their fear, which is why, I
think, the programme in question goes far beyond
the boundaries of either decency or entertainment.
Some people, we know, will do anything for money, status and
some kind of recognition. There are very few of the
contestants who will 'walk away from the jungle' without a
contract for television work or publishers scrambling to
persuade them to 'write their story'. The price of
celebrity status is very much one of exposure and
vulnerability and, I suppose, it is no wonder that they are
prepared and able to face their fears on television and
articulate them, when 'transparency' is the actual
'hallmark' of their total existence. Mind you, whilst the
cost to them is their lack of privacy, the cost to us is
paying them for the loss of it!
This week is
Children in Need,
when celebrities join together to raise money to support the
weak and vulnerable in our country and throughout the world.
It saddens me to read that Sir Terry Wogan, a prominent
celebrity and an £800,000 a year BBC commentator has, in
previous years, been paid for his part in hosting the
marathon television event, and may be again this year.
Every year, a 'galaxy of stars', talented musicians,
comedians and entertainers all give their time to rehearse
and perform for a good cause and yet one of the programme's
'hosts' who is, let's face it, pretty talentless, is paid to
co-ordinate their contribution to the evening! Now the 'cat
is out of the bag', I wonder whether the exposure may prove
too much for 'one of our favourite celebrities', and whether
he might be thinking, I'm a celebrity get me out of here!
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