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Edmonds has turned into a right bore, hasn't he? This is proper Alan Partridge stuff from him.
The Sunday Times posted:
Noel Edmonds blows a gasket over BBC ‘deception’ in Eight Go Rallying endurance race show
It was billed by the BBC as a gruelling challenge in which teams of celebrities would compete in a classic endurance rally as they raced across almost 2,500 miles of rice fields, jungle tracks and treacherous mountains in southeast Asia.
In fact, two of the participants had not yet passed their driving test, another was too big for their car and a fourth rolled their Mini over on its roof. On the final leg of the race through Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam, two competitors made it across the finishing line only as passengers in a taxi. They and their bemused driver were garlanded with flowers in a chequered-flag ceremony.
As the road trip descended into the unintended slapstick of a reality show, the television presenter Noel Edmonds, who has a background in amateur rally car racing, was fuming. Indeed, he left the wrap party organised to celebrate the end of filming because he suspected the karaoke bar where it was being held was actually a brothel.
On his return to the UK he complained to Patrick Holland, controller of BBC2, and the show’s independent production company, Optomen, best known for its cookery programmes.
In its press release in January, the BBC had boasted that the four-part series, Eight Go Rallying — The Road to Saigon?, which begins on August 19, would involve the celebrities competing against “30 other vintage car enthusiasts as part of the Endurance Rally Association’s [ERA] Road to Saigon competition”.
Edmonds, however, said they were not allowed to do so and the celebrities were ordered not to compete against each other, following the early mishaps.
He questioned the BBC claim that they would get close to the local culture by “staying in some one-of-a-kind accommodation” as they drove through tribal areas of Vietnam, remarking drily: “I doubt the Sofitel, Hyatt and other five-star hotels we stayed in would be comfortable with this description.”
Edmonds, 69, said he also gently punctured the BBC’s claim that it would be an “epic adventure”, saying: “Ignoring the very high temperatures, we’ve experienced more ‘adventure’ driving down to Tesco.”
He said he regularly rejects lucrative offers to appear in reality shows, such as I’m a Celebrity ... Get Me Out of Here!, but he and his wife, Liz, accepted this offer because they were assured it was going to be very different.
He maintains that the mishaps that led Optomen to abandon the competitive element could have been averted.
The BBC strongly disagrees with Edmonds’s frustrations. In a statement it said: “The programme was produced with input from industry experts and in accordance with relevant health and safety guidance. If Noel had waited to see the programme first, we hope he’d agree that far from deceiving viewers the programme faithfully follows the celebrities on their adventure — and yes, it was gruelling. As viewers will see, when ‘mishaps’ happened during the course of the filming, this is reflected in the programme. With reference to two of the celebrities not having driving licences, it is common practice in ERA rallies for teams to include a non-driving navigator with no requirement for a licence. In a demanding drive like this, it’s not surprising that not all the original cars made it to the end — as viewers will see.
“Whilst the road trip may not have felt ‘epic’ or ‘unique’ to Noel, to the average person it would be a privilege to take part in such a trip for a TV programme.”
It said there is “no truth” in the claim that the wrap party had been held in a brothel: “It was a karaoke bar in a four-star hotel.”
It said Edmonds’s contract made it clear that the celebrities would not be competing against participants in the official rally: “The other participants remain positive about their experience and we think viewers will enjoy the programme.”
It was billed by the BBC as a gruelling challenge in which teams of celebrities would compete in a classic endurance rally as they raced across almost 2,500 miles of rice fields, jungle tracks and treacherous mountains in southeast Asia.
In fact, two of the participants had not yet passed their driving test, another was too big for their car and a fourth rolled their Mini over on its roof. On the final leg of the race through Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam, two competitors made it across the finishing line only as passengers in a taxi. They and their bemused driver were garlanded with flowers in a chequered-flag ceremony.
As the road trip descended into the unintended slapstick of a reality show, the television presenter Noel Edmonds, who has a background in amateur rally car racing, was fuming. Indeed, he left the wrap party organised to celebrate the end of filming because he suspected the karaoke bar where it was being held was actually a brothel.
On his return to the UK he complained to Patrick Holland, controller of BBC2, and the show’s independent production company, Optomen, best known for its cookery programmes.
In its press release in January, the BBC had boasted that the four-part series, Eight Go Rallying — The Road to Saigon?, which begins on August 19, would involve the celebrities competing against “30 other vintage car enthusiasts as part of the Endurance Rally Association’s [ERA] Road to Saigon competition”.
Edmonds, however, said they were not allowed to do so and the celebrities were ordered not to compete against each other, following the early mishaps.
He questioned the BBC claim that they would get close to the local culture by “staying in some one-of-a-kind accommodation” as they drove through tribal areas of Vietnam, remarking drily: “I doubt the Sofitel, Hyatt and other five-star hotels we stayed in would be comfortable with this description.”
Edmonds, 69, said he also gently punctured the BBC’s claim that it would be an “epic adventure”, saying: “Ignoring the very high temperatures, we’ve experienced more ‘adventure’ driving down to Tesco.”
He said he regularly rejects lucrative offers to appear in reality shows, such as I’m a Celebrity ... Get Me Out of Here!, but he and his wife, Liz, accepted this offer because they were assured it was going to be very different.
He maintains that the mishaps that led Optomen to abandon the competitive element could have been averted.
The BBC strongly disagrees with Edmonds’s frustrations. In a statement it said: “The programme was produced with input from industry experts and in accordance with relevant health and safety guidance. If Noel had waited to see the programme first, we hope he’d agree that far from deceiving viewers the programme faithfully follows the celebrities on their adventure — and yes, it was gruelling. As viewers will see, when ‘mishaps’ happened during the course of the filming, this is reflected in the programme. With reference to two of the celebrities not having driving licences, it is common practice in ERA rallies for teams to include a non-driving navigator with no requirement for a licence. In a demanding drive like this, it’s not surprising that not all the original cars made it to the end — as viewers will see.
“Whilst the road trip may not have felt ‘epic’ or ‘unique’ to Noel, to the average person it would be a privilege to take part in such a trip for a TV programme.”
It said there is “no truth” in the claim that the wrap party had been held in a brothel: “It was a karaoke bar in a four-star hotel.”
It said Edmonds’s contract made it clear that the celebrities would not be competing against participants in the official rally: “The other participants remain positive about their experience and we think viewers will enjoy the programme.”