Browse Sections
Interactive
Popular Sections
Partly cloudyMagazine
The week ahead: from Big Brother to big bother?
Conrad Astley10/ 2/2006
IT'S one of life's few certainties. They keep making reality TV
shows, and the unwashed masses keep queuing up to lose any sense of
dignity.
The latest offering is
Selling Yourself (Tuesday,
Channel Five) dubbed as a cross between The Apprentice and Dragon's
Den.
Bear in mind this is Channel Five, so things have to be scaled down
somewhat.
Candidates for The Apprentice degraded themselves to compete for
the prize of for a £100k job working for Sir Alan Sugar, the owner
of a £700m business empire.
In this show, the dream job they're after is working in an estate
agent's.
Last week they brought us the half ton man, this week it's
Bodyshock: The 80-Year Old Children (Monday,
Channel 4).
If you can get beyond the sensationalist title, which does sound as
if it should be being shouted by a man in a top hat standing next
to a circus tent, there is the promise of a detailed and
well-handled documentary.
Dr Chandon Chattopadhyay looks into the horrendous genetic defect
known as progeria, which causes all the signs of premature ageing -
including arthritis, thinning hair and loss of teeth.
The good news is it affects only one in four million children, but
the bad news is there is no cure. What is more unexpected is that
in a remote Indian village, there is a couple who have five of
their seven children suffering from the disease.
Davina McCall's rise to queen of fluff could reach its zenith this
week as she makes her bid to be the new Parky.
Could
Davina (Wednesday, BBC1) carve herself the
same cosy niche that Jonathan Ross and Frank Skinner managed? I
doubt it but Ross and Skinner are not great competition
either.
And do we really need another chat show host? Absolutely not.
There's enough sycophantic interviews already.
What we need is someone with courage to really get under people's
skin rather than just have them promote their books and CDs.
The guests on her first show include Charlotte Church, Max Beesley and Vernon Kay, so this isn't likely to be cutting edge stuff.
Got an opinion you want to share?| Company | Typical APR |
| Platinum Exclusive Loan | 7.8% |
| AA | 7.9% |
| Sainsbury's Personal Loan | 8.2% |
| Alliance & Leicester | 8.7% |
| Lloyds TSB | 8.9% |
| Abbey Personal Loan | 8.9% |
| Provider | AER* |
|
ICICI BANK HiSAVE Savings Account |
4.50% |
|
FIRST DIRECT Everyday e-Saver |
1.75% |
|
SAINSBURYS FINANCE Internet Saver |
2.25% |