I’m a Celebrity: The Men

A mayoral candidate, a popstar, an ex-Eastender and two old men

Brian Paddick’s goal for 2008 was to become the Mayor of London but after losing out to Boris Johnson he altered his aspirations and decided to settle on the next best thing: munching on witchetty grubs for the public’s amusement. Five of the seven previous series have been won by a man: have any of these got what it takes to become the sixth?

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Brian Paddick
In the space of six months the former Met Police Deputy Assistant Commissioner has gone from campaigning to become Mayor of London to accepting a spot on I’m a Celebrity. Paddick is fifty but age isn’t a negative factor: four of the previous seven winners were over forty while series two winner Phil Tufnell was close behind aged 37.

George Takei
At the age of 71, Star Trek’s Mr Sulu will become the oldest contestant in the history of the show. Prior to this series Tommy Cannon was the oldest entrant and he was the voted out first in series five. The last American cult actor to appear was Huggy Bear, who came seventh in series four.

Joe Swash
The popularity of ex-Eastenders has declined since Sid Owen’s third-placed finish in series five and Marc Bannerman was the first person voted off last year. However, despite only being 26, Swash has an interesting backstory: he lost his dad when he was twelve, contracted a serious illness that nearly killed him in 2005 and has a reputation as a party animal.

Robert Kilroy-Silk
There has never been a winner over the age of sixty and there is very little chance of the unpopular politician breaking that trend. Reality TV occasionally improves the public perception of shamed stars, such as Michael Barrymore (second, Celebrity Big Brother) but just as readily does further damage as Jim Davidson, who was removed from Hell’s Kitchen last year, will testify.

Simon Webbe
His former Blue bandmate Antony Costa came sixth in series five while former Busted singer Matt Willis (series six) is the only male popstar to have won the show. Webbe was born in Manchester which could prove a bad thing – four of the show’s five male winners have come from the south, with Oldham-born Christopher Biggins the only exception.

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Posted: November 16th, 2008 by Michael Lintorn |