I HAVE a confession to make: for the last two weeks I have been glued to my TV set every evening watching a mainstream, mindless, meaningless yet entertaining reality show called I’m a celebrity… get me out of here!. Celebrities included John Lydon (Sex Pistols’ Johnny Rotten), busty glamour model Katie Price (Jordan), Alex Best, former pop star and celebrity Cypriot Peter Andre, Lord Brocket, royal correspondent Jenny Bond, and Kerry Mc Fadden (married to Bryan of the boy band Westlife), all been stuck in the Australian jungle together and voted out one by one, day after day…
British television has always been proud of its intelligent and informative content. TV dramas, documentaries even our good old soaps have a message to tell, and boy isn’t Eastenders just a visual feast of kitsch!
Personally, I enjoy watching the news and a good documentary, but I also love Sex and the City (Sarah Jessica Parker rocks) and Footballers’ Wives (the new series starts on Wednesday – can’t wait! – and is the talk of the town, watch those nails go!). As a norm, I hate reality TV shows such as Pop Idol, Big Brother and the like; I find them slow, annoying and absolutely pointless. I’d rather watch paint – or nail varnish to be precise – dry.
But this show crept up on me – rather like the snakes in the jungle – because of the diversity of the characters who for a fortnight were stuck in the jungle living together, eating rice and beans (and spilling some) and playing happy families – or not as the case may be. And let’s face it, it’s so freezing cold, wet and windy back here in London that there is only so much fighting with the elements a girl can do (even when wearing Ugg boots, sheepskin and cashmere trimmings).
So instead, I have enjoyed the delights of microwave food – thank you M&S – cashmere socks, and candles, setting the scene for the ideal night in. The show is like a bite into real life, watching this microcosm of society develop into ‘jungle politics’, but not having to get involved. My favourite characters so far have been punk singer Johnny Rotten, whose complex personality made him stand out from the rest, and who, in true anarchic style, walked off the show, and Page Three model Jordan (described by Johnny as a parasite and a page three blow up balloon) because of her relentless flirtation with the sweet Peter Andre and her self-confessed laziness – ‘ I’m quite lazy, I think it showed in here…’
Sadly, the nation has been gripped day after day , trial after trial. They have endured tasks such as eating maggots, and putting their heads through tanks full of snakes, all in the name of popularity… yuck! After an agonising two weeks, the winner of the contest has at long last been announced and crowned as queen of the jungle by Tara Palmer Tompkinson. It was Kerry Mac Fadden, selected even after refusing her last trial, to share a glass tank with 60,000 cockroaches.
Back to the delights of real life as we know it: with Fashion Week around the corner, everyone’s schedule is piling up with shows, parties and showroom appointments. The latest news is that last season’s hit goodie, the all-acclaimed (by Madonna herself) Krispy Kreme doughnut is this season coated in red sugar instead of white, as this year as London Fashion Week begins on Valentine’s day. No doubt they will be present at the launch.
For the occasion, I have indulged in the latest limited edition Eternity fragrance by Calvin Klein, love, which is presented in a beautiful pink bottle in a pink perspex case… a floral fragrance with jasmine and magnolia which is to die for – buy it for yourself or for your Valentine – because, let’s face it, there is no harm in letting cupid loose in the urban jungle…
