MGEITF 2005: Celebrity Under Scrutiny At Edinburgh Festival
There is always a smattering of celebrity at the Edinburgh TV Festival, although this year saw the topic dominate several discussion sessions, with one in particular dedicated to dissecting the genre of celebrity-orientated TV.
Chaired by Boyd Hilton, editor of celebrity magazine, Heat, the C Word session also played host to Big Brother winner Jade Goody, Celebrity Love Island victor Jane Middlemiss and reality TV veteran James Hewitt.
Discussing whether there is an over-reliance on celebrity, the panel included Ian Hyland, TV columnist for the Sunday Mirror, Jane Lush, head of entertainment commissioning for the BBC, and Natalka Znak, controller of factual entertainment at Granada.
The inevitable slating of celebrity shows was given a airing at the beginning of the session, with Celebrity Wrestling quickly emerging as a by-word for failure. However, Natalka Znak was quick to defend the programme: “It was a great show, but it’s a much tougher TV environment now. For me, success is having the right format and the right cast. Celebrity Wrestling didn’t work, but you just have to keep trying.”
This position was echoed by Jane Lush, who underlined that “no-one sets out to make a bad show,” a premise she believes is often forgotten by critics.
James Hewitt, however, was less interested in diplomacy, claiming that he had always known the wrestling show he so willingly took part in was doomed to failure.
“I had a feeling halfway through that it might not go well,” he said. “The problem was that so many people got injured that they kept having to bring in new people, who were less and less well known – so people couldn’t get behind a team.”
ITV’s celebrity output was not entirely lambasted, however, as praise was heaped upon its latest offering, Celebrity Love Island.
“It took a hammering at the beginning, but I think that every paper changed its mind in the end. It was there to dent Big Brother, which I think it did,” explained Natalka Znak. “We’re in advanced talks with ITV for another series.”
Answering critics from the floor, who claimed that celebrities were being over-used, Znak claimed that their definition as celebrities was often unimportant in comparison to their role within the ‘casting’ of a programme.
“Paul Danan is a classic example,” she explained. “He was on Hollyoaks, but that was years ago, so his profile was pretty low, but he made a fantastic contribution.
“The word celebrity might get dropped from the title of some of these shows, but that doesn’t mean they will stop appearing, because they’re an amazing short hand,” explained the Granada programme boss before the Sunday Mirror‘s Ian Hyland quipped: “Is Jeremy Beadle doing one?”
The enlightening afternoon session, which helped kick off the festival on Friday, left delegates with a feeling of inevitability around yet more celebrity programming heading for broadcast schedules. Although Jane Middlemiss managed to sum up the general consensus of the panel, stating at the end of the session: “People love to be really snobby about reality telly, but they still watch it!”
Edinburgh International TV Festival: www.mgeitf.co.uk