I do love Masterchef, even when it’s bad it’s good… but so far the celebrity has left me baffled. Russell grant the astrologer, yes I do remember him, Todd Carthy… wasn’t he in Grange Hill… didn’t he go into Eastenders? I think so… but poor Todd, he was pretty out of his depth and actually I think his name is Carty, not Carthy. Then a woman with an enormous laugh and a WW2 headscarf, Sophie someone, Susannah who I think was on a fashion programme where she was rude to people about the way they dressed – I didn’t watch it so I don’t know for sure, and then Jodie Kidd who I have heard of but I think I was confusing her with an actress…. or was it a singer… and isn’t there a footballer called Jody? Anyway this Jody is very tall and really seems the best of all of them, the keenest, the one who concentrates most and has the most aptitude. As you have probably guessed, I don’t know much about celebrities… I don’t suppose they will have any writers, or poets, or artists… I wonder if Carol Ann Duffy would be interested, or George R.R. Martin, or Anthony Gormley? Now they would be worth watching!
PS The contestants in the first round I was watching were Todd Carty, Jodie Kidd, Susannah Constantine, Sophie Thompson and Russell Grant, and if you want to read a proper review, have a look here:
Lois Elsden 
Hi Lois
The biggest problem with all mainstream “celeb” shows is actually finding well known celebrities that would be interested. Everyone (wrongly) assumes that they all receive a huge fee for taking part. Unfortunately, this isn’t the case as all production budgets have been reduced. I can think of 1 mainstream daytime show that pays around £100 fee. Considering the time you arrive at the studio (make up,briefing etc..), the on air time plus travel to and from the studio the, £100 cover the taxi fare and the remainder equates to £20/hour.
The other issue is that there are no new formats coming through any of the channels. This results in the same old format for Masterchef,Big Brother,Strictly etc.. with a smaller pool of celebs to take part.
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Hi Lisa, I think I was commenting more about me not knowing celebrities, rather than them not really being well known! I enjoyed the show, and it’s always interesting to see how people accept the challenges they are given. I’m looking forward to then next rounds!
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