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Celebrity Big Brother - Series 7

"Hell Lies In Others" - 11 'celebrities' enter the house (December 2009)

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DA
David
I've heard it said before that if it wasn't for the Big Brother presenting job, Davina McCall would be a contestant. This could be her last chance. Could it happen?


I should be a producer or one of those The Sun people ('journalist' doesn't seem like the right word).

Davina McCall is out of the house now. She took her chicken head off and congratulated the house mates for reaching the final before leaving.
TV
TV Geek
There are 2 ways of looking at it.

1) They're only saying Davina would be a housemate because she has been the face of the show since day 1. Perhaps they'd be saying the same about Zoe Ball if Davina wasn't picked instead.

2) Without Big Brother, Davina might not have ever hit the mainstream. She is the most successful TV presenter of the noughties mainly due to Big Brother. If it had never gone on air or again if Zoe was picked, she might have continued to present late night shows and then disappear after a while and appearing on some low key prime time projects. Big Brother wasn't expected to take off in the way it did. So she would make a good "celeb" housemate in that way.

I'm more inclined to go with number 1 ...
DA
David
2) Without Big Brother, Davina might not have ever hit the mainstream. She is the most successful TV presenter of the noughties mainly due to Big Brother.


It all depends on how you measure success. Financial success has to be Jonathan Ross but if you measure success based on TV exposure then it has to be someone like Adrian Chiles IMHO.
TV
TV Geek
2) Without Big Brother, Davina might not have ever hit the mainstream. She is the most successful TV presenter of the noughties mainly due to Big Brother.


It all depends on how you measure success. Financial success has to be Jonathan Ross but if you measure success based on TV exposure then it has to be someone like Adrian Chiles IMHO.


The key word I missed out in that was 'female' Embarassed

No female entertainment presenter that is around today was around in 2000 and has worked every year since. Davina earns £1m for each series and the CBB that follows, so I think its safe to assume shes one of the highest paid female presenters too. A lot of people dwell on her failures but shes had some huge successes too, and at the start of the decade she was ITV's Golden Girl. Today its Holly Willoughby, preceeded by Cat Deeley.
NG
noggin Founding member
2) Without Big Brother, Davina might not have ever hit the mainstream. She is the most successful TV presenter of the noughties mainly due to Big Brother.


It all depends on how you measure success. Financial success has to be Jonathan Ross but if you measure success based on TV exposure then it has to be someone like Adrian Chiles IMHO.


The key word I missed out in that was 'female' Embarassed

No female entertainment presenter that is around today was around in 2000 and has worked every year since. Davina earns £1m for each series and the CBB that follows, so I think its safe to assume shes one of the highest paid female presenters too. A lot of people dwell on her failures but shes had some huge successes too, and at the start of the decade she was ITV's Golden Girl. Today its Holly Willoughby, preceeded by Cat Deeley.


Yep - that is certainly one interpretation. Another is that she has become a key element to a format that has been a major success. Is the success her's or the format's?

Davina's work outside BB and CBB has been far less of a success - so is it the format, or her?

Personally I think it is a combination of the two (she's sort of symbiotic with the format - a bit like Ant'n'Dec with I'm a Celebrity and BGT/Pop Idol) - and you can't argue that she's done well to stay on-screen for such a long period. Both CBB and BB have long runs, so she has remained a presence in the consciousness of the viewing public (or a section of it) for a long time, in a way that other female presenters (Kate Thornton anybody?) have failed to do.

I do wonder what she'll do after BB/CBB - though she doesn't need to do much at all I guess?
DV
DVB Cornwall
Some less than subtle hints are being dropped that Ch4 might take the option of one more CBB in 2011 as viewing figures for this series are better than expected.

more….

Media Guardian
BR
Brekkie
I do think it would have benefited both if Davina and Big Brother had parted company a couple of years ago. Regardless of your views on her role ultimately Big Brother got axed because it didn't evolve, and if a new presenter had been drafted in that might have been the stimulus to take the show in a new direction.

Likewise Davina became too associated with the role that other opportunities just weren't forthcoming and she was judged as the Big Brother presenter, rather than on her own merit. From what I've seen the critics have been quite kind to her regarding Got to Dance - but sadly beyond that there aren't too many opportunities around for 40-something women in light entertainment at the moment. Would hate to see her have to do a Kate Thornton and join Loose Women!
LI
littlesmegger
Actually a Loose Women position wouldn't do her any harm in my opinion... she's very open about her life, so she'd fit in well. And I don't think it's seen as a negative in a career what with recent awards and praise.

In my opinion Davina is Big Brother, and unless the programme had a COMPLETE overhaul, she would have to be part of it. Plus it's nieve to think replacing the presenter would replace the audience, cause it wouldn't. It's Endemol/Channel 4's fault, not hers.
GS
Gavin Scott Founding member
I do think it would have benefited both if Davina and Big Brother had parted company a couple of years ago. Regardless of your views on her role ultimately Big Brother got axed because it didn't evolve, and if a new presenter had been drafted in that might have been the stimulus to take the show in a new direction.


I don't see that at all.

She's such a minor part of the proceedings. She does the launch, and then you don't see her until the eliminations - events based solely around the daily shows where she doesn't feature at all.

Its true that, post baby birth, she became unbearably clucky and only interested in potential lurve and relationships within the house - but she's mellowed over time with regard to that.

The failing of the regular show was pi$s poor casting, with and endless procession of big-t*tted blonde idiot tarts.

No one you could learn anything from or about.
TV
TV Geek
Yep - that is certainly one interpretation. Another is that she has become a key element to a format that has been a major success. Is the success her's or the format's?

Davina's work outside BB and CBB has been far less of a success - so is it the format, or her?

Personally I think it is a combination of the two (she's sort of symbiotic with the format - a bit like Ant'n'Dec with I'm a Celebrity and BGT/Pop Idol) - and you can't argue that she's done well to stay on-screen for such a long period. Both CBB and BB have long runs, so she has remained a presence in the consciousness of the viewing public (or a section of it) for a long time, in a way that other female presenters (Kate Thornton anybody?) have failed to do.

I do wonder what she'll do after BB/CBB - though she doesn't need to do much at all I guess?


The success of the show is probably not down to Davina but she has become a massive part of it so it would probably fail in its current form without her. But she has had lots of success outside of Big Brother- its just, as I said, that people dwell on the shows that have failed. Her only real failures have been her chat show, 'He's Having A Baby' and 'Love on a Saturday Night'.

She has her new show on Sky and she has moved to James Grant who is a good agent, so I guess she'll manage to get a few more shows. Probably nothing as prominent as Big Brother but it will probably be work non the less. If its true that she turned down This Morning then that was probably a bit of a silly idea.
JJ
Juicy Joe Founding member
Brign back The Vault with Davina McCall - or even You Bet!/Don't Try This At Home - perfect shows for Davina!! Very Happy
GS
Gavin Scott Founding member
Yep - that is certainly one interpretation. Another is that she has become a key element to a format that has been a major success. Is the success her's or the format's?

Davina's work outside BB and CBB has been far less of a success - so is it the format, or her?

Personally I think it is a combination of the two (she's sort of symbiotic with the format - a bit like Ant'n'Dec with I'm a Celebrity and BGT/Pop Idol) - and you can't argue that she's done well to stay on-screen for such a long period. Both CBB and BB have long runs, so she has remained a presence in the consciousness of the viewing public (or a section of it) for a long time, in a way that other female presenters (Kate Thornton anybody?) have failed to do.

I do wonder what she'll do after BB/CBB - though she doesn't need to do much at all I guess?


The success of the show is probably not down to Davina but she has become a massive part of it so it would probably fail in its current form without her. But she has had lots of success outside of Big Brother- its just, as I said, that people dwell on the shows that have failed. Her only real failures have been her chat show, 'He's Having A Baby' and 'Love on a Saturday Night'.

She has her new show on Sky and she has moved to James Grant who is a good agent, so I guess she'll manage to get a few more shows. Probably nothing as prominent as Big Brother but it will probably be work non the less. If its true that she turned down This Morning then that was probably a bit of a silly idea.


There's clearly a couple of distinct BB "experiences" to be had.

The launch is just not enjoyable to me. The bullet-pointed housemate intro VTs make everyone look rather loathsome and one dimensional; not to mention the squirmy discomfort of seeing them all meet and make small-talk for the first time. I tend to read their bios on Digital Spy and wait til the next episode.

Davina, it seems, knows little or nothing about the housemates either - but adds her trademark gusto and excitement to the information on her crib-sheet. She loves every one of them, but I find myself sneering at the whole show.

Similarly, the eviction shows turn me off. The interviews are mostly glib and facile, with an obnoxious noisy audience booing or cheering accordingly - but Davina is the queen of being super-ingratiating - so its not bad telly - just not my cup of tea.

I prefer the daily show.

Putting aside Marcus' inane audio descriptions, for me its all about the housemates and the edit. What you hear in the diary room and see from select minutes of the day, that's where you learn if you really loath or like them.

And consider voting for them.

I get that the wider BB experience involves Davina and the spin offs, and for that I agree she's probably pivotal in making it event television for all these years.

I don't think people are tired of the event, just the participants being clone like in their "type" and lack of depth.

If you don't cast the house properly then you won't carry an audience for the huge run ahead.

That's why CBB is better - successful people in the entertainment industry are, largely, very personable, interesting and/or likeable. That's de rigueur when your job is selling yourself.

But people like that exist in all walks of life - BB just doesn't pick them.

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