"You'd not expect to find any of these in the same show biz photo let alone sharing a house," says the producer of the new version of Celebrity Big Brother, Phil Edgar-Jones. He is referring, of course, to the new team of famous faces to be incarcerated together for 10 days, under the ever-present lenses of 33 cameras.
The line-up features curvaceous former Page Three model Melinda Messenger, rapper and actor Goldie, comedian Sue Perkins and ex-TV presenter Anne Diamond. They will also be sharing the house with Take That band member Mark Owen and Family Fortunes presenter Les Dennis.
Many of the entrants appear to have agreed to participate in order to boost less than flourishing small-screen careers. Mother-of-two Melinda has taken time out from the spotlight to study for a philosophy degree while Anne Diamond lost her position with the ITV1 show Live Talk last year. Producers appear to feel they have the celebrity balance just right, however. "We wanted a mixed bunch," emphasised Edgar-Jones, adding: "It's brave of them to subject themselves to this."
The winner of the first Celebrity Big Brother, comedian Jack Dee, was surprisingly down on Channel 4's efforts to reprise the winning formula, saying: "I just wish the whole phenomenon would curl up and die. It smacks of a tired format from a TV channel that's run out of ideas."
Despite Jack's words, the show is predicted to attract record viewing figures.
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
