CHRISTOPHER STEVENS reviews the weekend TV: Celebrities? Even with name badges this bunch would be unrecognisable
Celebrity Sabotage (ITV1)
When a celebrity shows up and everyone knows them, you know a show must be stage managed. No one asks ‘Who are you? ‘Do you want to be famous?’
For example, not once on The Masked Singer did a sweaty face peeking out of the costume receive the surprised looks of the jury members.
At best, it’s ‘Oh, it’s you!’ Didn’t I see you on MasterChef? ‘His name is on the tip of my tongue!’
In the pre-internet era, when the news cycle was still in its silly season, a reliable filler-in-the-blank was to send a junior reporter into a shopping district with photos of various royals and politicians to see how many people could recognize them. At all times, most shoppers couldn’t even name a single one.
But when the public learned they were being pranked by semi-famous comedians and influencers on Celebrity Sabotage, they reacted as if members of their own families had come forward.
‘Sam Thompson!’ She gasped at the sight of a man who was once on Made In Chelsea and was now famous simply because he was famous.
Another marveled at ‘GK Barry’ spying on a TikTok artist who has appeared on Loose Women several times. I couldn’t tell GK Barry from TK Maxx, and I guess most of the country couldn’t either.
Sam and GK spent most of the hour lurking off-screen or appearing under heavy disguises alongside their famous friends Joel Dommett and Judi Love. The sad truth is that even though they were all wearing badges, they could still be unrecognizable.
Comedian Joel Dommett (pictured) hosts Celebrity Sabotage with Judi Love, Sam Thompson and GK Barry
The format of Celebrity Sabotage is overworked, with new hosts and guest stars each week, and a show-within-a-show setup to keep the cast even more confused than the audience.
The opening episode featured Dragon’s Den businesswoman Sara Davies posing as the host of game show The Applicant, set on a country estate and clearly modeled on The Apprentice.
Six businessmen took on tasks such as shooting a promotional video or organizing a yoga workshop. Behind the scenes, the celebrities planned pranks in a basement full of giant screens that looked like a supervillain’s lair.
They would throw yoghurt from a height so that the players would think a bird was jumping on them, and they would disguise themselves as paintballers or gardeners to cause chaos.
Judi hid under a table at a wedding venue to make sure a pyramid of champagne glasses collapsed. Sam, or possibly Joel (I bet you won’t be able to tell the difference either), was wearing armor, while Joel (maybe it was Sam) was hiding in a chair.
This week’s special guest was veteran comedian Jo Brand, who managed to look both bored and bemused throughout, like a woman being forced to play a video game by her grandchildren.
He had no idea what the rules were or why anyone thought this was fun; he just wanted to reach the end of the day unscathed. It’s a familiar feeling.
