This year (2018) John
Barrowman became a contestant for the reality show ‘I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here’ and I have to admit, I had a
few reservations.
‘I’m a Celebrity’ has a
bit of a reputation for rebooting a failing celebrity’s career, and most of the
time, even after a reboot, the celebrity would disappear, never to be heard of
again. Although Peter Andre did reappear for a few years, made another album,
married Jordan, and became a household name, he seems to have dropped off the
radar again.
John Barrowman, although
has been active on social media, has been attending tons of Conventions right
across the globe, has been recording regular Torchwood audios for Big Finish, and
has written a new series of books with his sister, Carole, hasn’t been on the
television since CW Arrow or Legends of Tomorrow as Malcolm Merlyn.
However, that being said,
John is not failing in his career, but his lack of TV presence would perhaps
say otherwise.
I had reservations too
regarding the location of the ‘camp’, and the whole set up, after reading in a
newspaper article years ago that the location wasn’t really in the ‘jungle’ as
we were led to believe but at the bottom of the garden of a large hotel
complex. Further reading in another article, led me to discover that the
celebrities were in no real danger from any of the ‘risks’ in the said jungle
and that it was so safe that even young children could do the bush tucker
trials. Obviously, that’s not to say that they couldn’t fall and slip and
sprain their ankle at any given moment during a walk in the ‘jungle’.
OK, perhaps I shouldn’t
believe everything I read in the tabloid newspapers, but reputations are a hard
thing to break, and nothing in the show convinced me otherwise, until now.
In 2018, a whole new bunch
of celebrities from the world of sport, music, soap operas, dramas and reality
shows were flown in and ejected out of a helicopter to begin a three week stay
in the Australian Outback.
Joining John in the jungle
were Emily Atack from the Inbetweeners, Fleur East from the X Factor, Malique
Thompson-Dwyer from Hollyoaks, Sair Khan from Corrie, Nick Knowles from DIY
SOS, Harry Redknapp – Football Manager, James McVey from The Vamps, Rita Simons
from Eastenders, Anne Hegerty from The Chase, and Noel Edmonds who appeared mid
way in and seemed to be the series’ wildcard.
Edmonds’ the highest paid
celebrity to join the series was reported to only be in there to stir up trouble
in the camp and to come out about his mental health issues. However, quite the
opposite occurred. Many were surprised about his appearance, but he seemed to
fit in quite well, and where the presenters Holly and Dec were making out that
Edmonds was stirring up the camp mates, I found him to actually be a breath of
fresh air and loved every minute of his appearance in the series even though I
was sceptical at the time, and was only disappointed that he was voted out
first – although I think he was glad in a way to be heading home to his wife.
On Sunday night (30th
November) John fell just outside of the camp and sprained his ankle and spent
the night in lockdown at the local hospital. Thankfully he’s back in camp now
but many of us were worried he might have damaged his ankle far worse, given
how prone to injuries he is with his feet – can I bring your attention to the
flip flop incidents. Going over on your ankle seems the norm, John.
The weird thing is, that
prior to John having the accident, I’d had one of those thoughts about John
falling. Jeez, can I see the future now? I wonder if I can see the winning
numbers of this week’s lottery ticket for Saturday???
Although some may say that
the Bush Tucker Trials are far tamer than in previous years, I think it takes a
cast iron stomach to be able to sustain a milkshake diet of blended snails, animal
penises and cockroaches.
Each of the contestant’s
bar Anne who on medical grounds has been unable to attend many of the trials,
have managed to claim most of the stars which feed the camp at the end of the
day and they have been some gruesome of trials. I dare say I could manage some
of the ordeals but not with the Huntsman spiders. Any spiders are an ordeal to
overcome and I don’t personally think I could. And as for drinking a cocktail
of blended body parts – I’m a Whovian Get Me Out of Here!
What I did notice was that
during this year’s group of contestants, that despite a few small outbursts, by
Rita and Harry, this group are all working together. They love each other as
family. Unlike previous contestants, this group aren’t working against each
other. There are no bitching contests, no little groups who despise another
little group. I think that’s why I’m enjoying this particular series. Everyone
has made lifetime friends with one another, and if every other series can be
like this, I might be lured back to watching it without wondering what the
other channels are offering by way of entertainment. So perhaps it’s been a
good thing that John Barrowman joined the show as a contestant. It’s been an absolute
hoot – and if he can win the contest, then even better.
So, all in all, despite my
initial reservations, watching John in the Jungle has been a most pleasant
experience. Although, there are still some things that still bother me I think
I’ll save those for another time. With only a few days left in the jungle, how long
John can stay remains in the lap of the voters.
So, keep voting and KEEP
JOHN IN THE JUNGLE.
Milkshake anyone?
No comments:
Post a Comment