I've always considered him a legend but the glimpses of his own attitude to the world I've seen don't show him in the best light IMO.
Yeah, I just can't forget Noel's HQ (although I wish I could).
Noel's HQ was a disaster and I suspect Sky regretted commissioning it once they saw it. It was during the period where Noel had a deal with Sky which included Are You Smarter Than a Ten Year Old? and a revival of Noel's Christmas Presents.
His eventual retirement will only ever be something that he's forced into, either due to personal circumstances (e.g. failing health) or because no broadcaster wishes to employ him anymore. The latter would undoubtedly be because he makes himself unemployable, by hitting a new low in terms of cringeworthy opinion/incident/behaviour.
The career "second wind" that winning the series naturally brings is hardly the sort of thing that *anyone* (especially someone with an ego like Noel's) would immediately run away from.
During his House Party era, Noel's ego came to the fore many many times. The traditional end of the series gunging of Noel was something he hated and dreaded each year. When March would start to arrive he knew his production team were planning their own Gotcha for him, and he hated every moment of it. He can dish it out but can not take it.
He has a very high opinion of himself with very little humility. The only programme where we saw his humble side was Noel's Christmas Presents every Christmas Day on BBC One until 1999.
There were stories of his temper and tantrums off camera, especially the January 1998 event, where he pulled the house party off air, due to being awful material. Noel was in charge of the show, and surely he would have known months in advance how bad that 1997-1998 series was, but no, the ego continued and he refused point blank to recognise it until it was too late.
This appearance on I'm A Celeb will make or break him. He has a fine balancing act to do. Love there is Andi Peters there, as Noel treated him badly during the house party, with a Gotcha of course, but it was nice to see Andi getting his own back in March 1995 end of series, and you can see on Noel's face when you watch it, he hated Andi for doing it.
With respect there's a lot of assumption and conjecture there. He is clearly a complex person, but the end of series gunging and pranks were usually taken in good humour as his "comeuppance" for the series of dishing it out to other people. And I'm not sure what you mean about Andi Peters either - from what I saw there was mutual respect, alongside the NHP tradition of getting your own back at the end of the series...
As I said, if Noel *does* display his bad side and the producers decide to give it more airtime than anything else, I will switch off there and then.
*Not* everyone wants to see moaning, shouting and fighting. It might make good television for some, but it certainly does not - and never will - make good television for everyone.
That was exactly the case with the aforementioned Lucy Pargeter and Amy Willerton - and also with Lady Colin Campbell in 2015. (I'm not ashamed to admit that her antics, plus the winner being a lady from Geordie bl**dy Shore, were enough to put me off I'm A Celeb altogether - until I saw this year's line-up.)
I've always considered him a legend but the glimpses of his own attitude to the world I've seen don't show him in the best light IMO.
Yeah, I just can't forget Noel's HQ (although I wish I could).
Noel's HQ was a disaster and I suspect Sky regretted commissioning it once they saw it.
I really saw that as his Stand Up And Be Counted moment (a Hughie Green reference). However I do feel somewhat uncomfortable when people completely write off some of his views. We need people that question convention. It makes life more interesting if nothing else.
Kind of hoping ITV have House Party lined up to replace SNT next year.
I do wonder if, after plenty of post-House Party years slagging off exactly the sort of show he's now being paid to appear in, that may be Noel's end game.
He's not stupid. He's seen the 'king of the jungle' bounce of career, and thinks if he is the winner, ITV will be waving all sorts of presenting contracts in his face.
Cant see him appearing in Lloyd's Bank adverts though..
With that court case in mind (and developing this week according to the press) I think he'll be on his best behaviour - he's effectively after 11m character witnesses.