Celebrity Big Brother: Celebrity Hijack

Darth Mattitude · The Dark Admin

Celebrity Big Brother: Celebrity Hijack

Man In Black · Anime Mod

I suppose the best thing about this continuing abortion of a TV show is that it's not clogging up Ch4's schedule. Then again, most of what they do show is total pish too!

Darth Mattitude · The Dark Admin

Already the grief has started....

Celebrity Big Brother host Dermot O'Leary has criticised the decision to change the show's format after the row over alleged racist bullying last year.

"I thought it was a mistake," he told BBC Radio 1's Newsbeat.

"I still think it's a good show and I don't think anyone should apologise for what happened last year. It conjured up debate and asked serious questions."

Big Brother: Celebrity Hijack, which sees stars act as the voice of Big Brother, launches on Channel 4 later.

Famous names, including Matt Lucas and Joan Rivers, will set tasks, invent rules and talk to contestants in the diary room.

The 12 housemates, who have been described as "pure prodigies", include an Olympic boxing hopeful, a classical musician and the chairman of the Scottish Youth Parliament.

"Rather than cast someone who's desperate to be on television, they've gone out of their way to cast people who probably wouldn't normally apply to be on it," said O'Leary.

£50,000 prize

The change in format follows the furore surrounding 2007's Celebrity Big Brother, when Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty was the victim of alleged racist bullying by fellow contestants Jade Goody, model Danielle Lloyd and singer Jo O'Meara.

A record 45,000 people complained to Ofcom about the incident. It ruled that Channel 4 had made "serious editorial misjudgements" in its handling of the incidents.

Apart from the launch show, this year's show will not be screened on Channel 4, with nightly updates moving to digital channel E4.

The housemates include 19-year-old boxer Anthony Ogogo, from Suffolk, who won a gold medal for Britain at the 2004 Junior Olympics and hopes to compete in Beijing this summer.

Liam Young is an internet entrepreneur from Liverpool, who started selling web space aged eight, while Latoya Satnarine is a professional dancer who has appeared in videos by Madonna, Jamelia and Craig David.

Beauty queen Jade Eden, a former Miss Essex, is a member of Mensa.

Other contestants include politician John Loughton, violinist Calista Robertson, Mobo-nominated songwriter Nathan Fagan-Gayle and car racing champion Jeremy Metcalfe.

The group of 12 is completed by Oxford-educated conceptual artist Amy Jackson, fashion designer Jay Wilson and acrobat siblings Emilia and Victor Arata.

Victor is the 3/1 favourite with bookmaker Ladbrokes to take home the £50,000 prize.

Little Britain's Matt Lucas will be the first star to set the rules during the live launch on Channel 4 at 2100BST.

The rest of the series will feature footballer Ian Wright, pop impresario Malcolm McLaren and comedians Jimmy Carr and Joan Rivers.

Man In Black · Anime Mod

"I don't think anyone should apologise for what happened last year. It conjured up debate and asked serious questions."

That's all right then if it conjures up debate. I going to shoot some black people tonight but I'm not going to apologise because it will conjure up debate!

Twat! If I hated him before I like him even less now....

Symphony Of Destruction · Metal Mod

Not meaning it funny, but after last year's racist debachle who is better off for the publicity?

No one should appologise, because in fairness Shetti wanted publicity and she got it, in abundance even. She's possibly one of the best known bollywood actors in England now and your average joe has probably never seen her in a film.

The whole Big Brother consept has always bothered me anyways, I hate how people go in and come out famous for just sitting on their asses. Trust the Dutch to come up with such a pointless consept.

DoctorOfDesire · 500 Club Member

I'm with SoD on this one. The first UK Big Brother started with little fanfare and I thought it was quite an interesting idea and watched every day, the series growing in publicity with the whole Nasty Nick thing. I even watched the second series!

However, the whole thing has started to get far too ridiculous, and is seen as a fast-track to stardom by idiotic arseholes and wannabe WAG's who want their 15 minutes of fame. Channel 4 should scrap the whole idea and think of something new!

Darth Mattitude · The Dark Admin

Did anyone watch this last night? Matt Lucas was a legend on it I laughed my ass off. He had some poor soul who had to wear an earpiece and not tell anyone that ML was telling him what to do and say.

The funniest bit was when he had this guy rubbing the boxers shoulders 5 mins after the guy had got in the house. Then he started getting him to say things like Im psychic and telling that person who walked in all about them and they were really freked out on how he knew.

But line of the night has to be the young composer...

'Sound of Music... I wrote that.'

Man In Black · Anime Mod

Symphony Of Destruction wrote:

Not meaning it funny, but after last year's racist debachle who is better off for the publicity?

No one should appologise, because in fairness Shetti wanted publicity and she got it, in abundance even. She's possibly one of the best known bollywood actors in England now and your average joe has probably never seen her in a film.

The whole Big Brother consept has always bothered me anyways, I hate how people go in and come out famous for just sitting on their asses. Trust the Dutch to come up with such a pointless consept.

That's a fair point and I agree that it turned out to be a case of "any publicity being good publicity" for Shilpa (and the show to some extent). And to say "No one should apologise" is ignorant, sounding as though they are condoning Jade's actions.

Yes, it brought about debate but that doesn't mean it should have happened or be let to get out of control to the level it did. That was the producer's decision to let it go and not step in when it started up. They knew it would draw ratings so they let it go until they make the headlines. So yes they need to apologise for that at least and for allowing Shilpa to contionuously be put in that position for the sake of ratings and media attention.

And as you said, it was because of Big Brother that someone as vile and useless like Jade Goody gets a high profile public forum in the first place.

NymVette · Movie Producer

I am not going to bother watching this series as I haven't watched any of the recent series.

The most annoying thing for me was that in the mornings channel 4 replaced the usual shows with big brother. At least now it seems that won't happen so I will still have something to watch in the mornings when I am getting ready to go out.

Totoro101 · Movie Executive Producer

cringeworthy stuff, cant believe i had to see this last night, my sister loves it so they had a bundle of laughs, it was mildly amusing at first but it soon grew tiresom with matt lucas looking a tad bored after a while.Wont be seeing any of this.

Jay · B List Star

I'll watch it when Keith Lemon does it.

Man In Black · Anime Mod

Who?