I’m the celebrity who told ITV there was too much Ant and Dec — get me out of here!
Believe it or not, I actually turned down an opportunity to be on Celebrity Big Brother. This was back in 2002, after the series in which Vanessa Feltz made her infamous appearance. Given its career-destroying potential, I asked how much I would be paid. ‘Oh no, there’s no fee,’ explained the Channel 4 executive who’d contacted me. ‘It’s all for charity.’ (By the time George Galloway made his appearance on the programme, this policy had been revised.)
I came closer to appearing on I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! This was in 2005, when the show was at its height. My television agent received an email from the ‘celebrity producer’ asking if I’d be interested. ‘The success of past series of the show has meant that we are now able more than ever to cast people who don’t “need” to do the show, such as Janet Street-Porter and Johnny Rotten, and with this in mind I am approaching you,’ she wrote.
I instructed my agent to write back saying I would indeed be interested and, a few days later, I went along to ITV’s headquarters on the South Bank to meet the show’s producers. I’m a Celeb seemed a much safer bet than Celebrity Big Brother — and contestants are generally well paid — so I told them what I thought they wanted to hear. For instance, when they asked me how I’d react to being in the jungle and having to live off rice and beans I said ‘not well’. ‘I tend to be very short-tempered at the best of times,’ I explained. ‘I’ll probably end up having screaming rows with all my fellow contestants.’
By the end of the interview I was convinced it was in the bag.
More articles from: Toby Young | this section
Post this entry to: del.icio.us | Digg | Newsvine | NowPublic | Reddit
Advertisement
Is running a country just too big a job for anyone?
You don’t expect people to take their political inspiration from…
I’m famous at last — thanks to the internet (and this column)
I don’t know quite how to put this without sounding…
I must be prevented from becoming a Neighbourhood Champion at all costs
I was slightly alarmed by the news that Harrow Council…
Socrates once met such a girl, Theodote. A stunning beauty…
Amid the great and the glamorous sipping champagne at Sotheby’s…
GASCONY, SW France, near Condom-en-Armagnac 13th Century stone house, 21st Century luxury for 12 in 5 en-suites. 50 acres +
IF YOU ARE PLANNING A CHAMPAGNE RECEPTION and looking for some light entertainment, you can now hire London's busiest steel
BOSC LEBAT, SW France. Only 45 minutes from Toulouse Airport with daily flights from most provincial airports avoiding the horrors
Spectator Business | Apollo Magazine
Corporate | Advertising | Privacy | Terms
Spectator, 22 Old Queen Street, London, SW1H 9HP
All Articles and Content Copyright ©2009 by The Spectator | All Rights Reserved
ian skidmore
November 20th, 2008 12:05pm Report this commentyour instinct was correct
J Harris
November 22nd, 2008 11:47am Report this commentToby Young please comment on the other ICGmUOH. The inane stupid amatuer spin off on ITV2. The hosts of this ridicules excuse for a programme bounce around like monkies on a stick. Please ban these people from the air waves they're more offensive than Ross & Grant and don't have a fraction of their talent.
Back to top