Year in, year out we see more or less of the same type of celebrities on our reality television shows. Be it Strictly Come Dancing, I’m A Celeb, Dancing On Ice, or Celebrity Big Brother, every year we see washed up celebrities, looking to re-ignite their not so sparkling careers, one hit wonders, WAGs, and Z list celebrities. So is it time that reality TV show producers upped their game and actually secure some credible, well known celebrities for their shows? I love reality television, it’s one of my many guilty pleasures but I can’t help but wish TV shows had better celebrities on their shows.
Take the latest series of Dancing On Ice which started last night. Out of 15 ‘celebrities’, I just about recognized 3 or 4 familiar faces: Heidi Range, Jorgie Porter, Jennifer Ellison, and Corey Feldman (and even at that, it took me a while to catch on to who they were) so I couldn’t help but wonder if the DOI producers could have came up with a better cast? I think this years collection of celebs is definitely one of the worst, as much as it pains me to say because Dancing on Ice is not a bad show at all.
And don’t even get me started on Celebrity Big Brother with putting Natasha Giggs on the show – she’s only famous for sleeping with her brother in law who happened to be a premier league footballer, how does that make her a celebrity?!
And then on the other hand, there are shows such as X Factor and Big Brother that instantly creates celebrities – whether or not they have a real talent or not. Take the Kardashians for example, no one in that family has a real talent, but yet they are one of the most famous reality TV families ever and who are worth millions. At least X Factor creates celebrities who are have a real reason to be famous – they’re talented.
Whether you like it or not, reality TV shows will always feature Z list celebrities in my opinion, that’s just the nature of the beast, but who knows? Maybe one day we’ll see an A-list actor like Johnny Depp or Leonardo DiCaprio on a reality TV show? But in saying that, their careers would need to take a massive nosedive before any of them would think of signing up for a TV show like Celebrity Big Brother!
So what do you think? Do you think reality television shows should feature more known celebrities? Or are they fine just the way they are?