‘Celebrity Big Brother’ bosses have reportedly ruled out getting any more politicians on the show.
‘Celebrity Big Brother’ bosses have reportedly ruled out getting any more politicians on the show
The rumoured policy comes after a string of former MPs have appeared on reality shows, with ITV’s ‘I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!’ recently featuring ex-health minister Matt Hancock, as well as ex-MEP Nigel Farage.
A TV source told The Sun: “The feeling is that politicians haven’t necessarily worked as well as producers might have hoped when they’re on these shows. At best they can be divisive, at worst plain boring.
“And they tend to be costly too, because they have to be big names, and the big beast politicians tend to come at a price.
“Bosses also feel like they aren't quite right for the mix they're trying to achieve for ‘CBB’.
“That’s despite the fact that they have already had a few politicians trying to throw their hat in the ring, to no avail.”
Mr Hancock has also appeared on Channel 4’s ‘Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins’ with former House of Commons Speaker John Bercow featuring on ‘The Traitors’ in America.
A series of ex-politicians have also popped up on the BBC’s ‘Strictly Come Dancing’, including Ed Balls, Edwina Currie, Ann Widdecombe and former business secretary Sir Vince Cable.
He took part in the ‘Strictly’ Christmas special in 2010 after previously admitting to having a “serious ambition” to appear on the ballroom dancing programme.
The Sun has also reported ITV have a £2 million budget to sign up big-name stars to ‘CBB’.
A version of the show featuring members of the public was launched on ITV2 from October to November last year, with hosts Will Best and AJ Odudu at the helm.
It is switching to ITV1 as ‘CBB’ in March with the same two presenters fronting the show, and it is understood the change to the main channel on the network has led to pressure for high-profile faces to appear.
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