First of all, let me make it clear that Sophie really does appear to be everything that people say she is - self-centred recovering addict with massive self-affirmation issues, just to start with. Since cocaine apparenly tickles the "reward centres" of the brain that tells you "You're ace! You're so funny! You're brilliant! You can do anything!", it seems scarcely surprising that someone only 2 months out of rehab needs to seek approval from people a lot.

And Nat too, surely cannot be as timid as she tries to appear, given that the average night out with hubby Liam and The Prodigy must surely be rather more extreme than a kiddies card game and a bowl of ants (Keith Flint probably eats wichity grubs instead of popcorn as a matter of course, and Liam Howlett once described his biggest turn-on as "cocaine sex").

And I'm sure there are conflicts within the camp, and that the paranoia of isolation has generated some temporary but tangible issue between Sophie and Natalie.

But aren't the editors overplaying it just a wee smidgeon too much? It's as if they've decided that the GBP are only tuning in for the chance to see Nat and Soph in a full-on nail-scratching bikini-shedding catfight, and are adjusting shown footage in the hope of provoking just that. Surely there must be other stories going on? I won't deny that Sophie's pretty but in the words of celebrity LA property developer J.Lydon, she's "pretty vacant", and Canadian Gollum impersonator Natalie Simpleton is doing her ex-career no favours here proving that she even has trouble crossing bridges or walking too close to trees, water or air. Is she aiming for a sideline in selling Appleton-branded oxygen bottles?

I'd rather see more JSP (can we fly in Sigue Sigue Sputnik to "surprise" her?), see someone shut Sheila up, find someone to interact with Antonio in any way at all (it *kills* me that he's forced to use his character name from Starsky and Hutch instead of his actual name) - he keeps up with these little conversation-killer philosophical-sounding sayings, but nobody ever asks him "what does that actually mean? Does that make any real sense? How do you expect me to make use of that observation in real life?"

Even background wallflowers like Joe Pasquale (inexplicably frequently referred to as a favourite - how come?) or the surprisingly endearing Jim Moir whose frequent snatched playground kisses with Nancy show a vulnerable personal side not seen in fifteen years of TV fame.

There must be some story worth following instead of Natalie vs Sophie?

Bob

I agree, the Sophie and Natalie show is very tedious.

As for the GBP voting for Natalie to do all the tasks, do they not want to see some real entertainment and have they more money than sense.

It was incredibly boring when Fash was chosen day after day.

I'd like to see Shelia, Huggy or Vic do a trial before they are voted off in favour of the 'fit' crowd.

Joe Pasquale has already won...by quite an extent...the producers just want to fill air time until he's crowned.....

Very true. Very depressing.. but very true!

I see what you say, bob, but you've got to be realistic........the story-lines evolve through tabloid coverage, feeding back into the edit, feeding the tabloid coverage, feeding the Tara and Mark show and so on

Huggy coming out with the odd deckchair aphorism about the meaning of life will not fill 6 pages of the super soaraway Sun. As for the name surely 'Antonio' is a stage name anyway ? I'd like to see him get a task to see if his hair die runs.

A couple of bikini-clad 'babes' having a ding-dong is manna from heaven. I've been watching some of the live coverage..........there really isn't a lot going on, certainly nothing which comes near 'babe-fight' as a tabloid story.


And another thing...........


Take the main show, which is where the story is told.......take out Ant & Dec, Hogan, adverts, the previous days trial, the previous days treasure hunt, it only leaves about five minutes to tell all the stories..........obviously they will concentrate on the main story as perceived by them to be of interest for press coverage and promotion of the show.


Erm, finally ..........Sophie is kinda attractive, but I think of a square-jawed Andrea Corr chewing a couple of wasps.......OK, that still ain't bad !

OK, why?

My own perception followed the pattern: "OMG his real voice really is that squeaky" closely followed by "Actually it doesn't sound so bad when it's just unforced Bow Bells geezer rather than forced childlike showbiz affectation". And he's just fine, splendid chap, but a winner? Why?

Why has Joe already won? Knowing your favourite themes Mes, I really can't see him as the producers' favourite in this instance, especially given, for instance, Nancy's husband being flown in, Brian's nan conveniently dying, and the interminable Nat and Soph Showdown.

Does Joe somehow embody the enduring spirit of such jungle legends as Tony Blackburn, Phil Tufnell or Kerry Katona(/McFadden)?

Bob

that's rubbish, there's a long way to go yet, and dont' make the mistake of thinking that the forum's polls are truly indicative of the fickle british public's tastes....

i have no idea who i want to win, as long as it's not joe pisssqueeky, jannut screech-bawler, ante-natal appleton, sheilargelydeluded, or paul bunghole...

I do have my themes Bob....and I know how the editing goes and how things are played out....you may not like my results but the math adds up. The producers are having far to much fun showing the lookers fighting than to pick out anything else. You also should know that like it or not I can spot a winner a mile off.....through no effort whatsoever Joe is by far the most obvious one to win, none of the others even stand a chance of winning.....Apart from a slight puzzlement at why he's so popular have you read any real criticism of him apart from the voice (which some site as good thing as it happens).....In the unlikely event he does anything negative I suspect we'll see a Nadia like resiliance to bad news from him....At the start of the week all the guy did in one episode was fall into a hole, his approval rating on This Morning shot up 20% ffs.....Joe has the show totally sewn up. (Oh...Phil Tufnell was a fave from the start as well......)

The public have already made their mind up. One traditional method of selecting a winner is by admiring the bravery of the task doers......Natalie is somehow going against the grain and not performing at all....and since she is getting all the tasks no one esle is given the chance to shine...this leaves producers a choice of showing the daily squabbles and making out people are leaving the camp because of Huggy's singing or actually showing someone in a good light....We know what they've gone for....So this leaves the public with their first choice....Joe.

Undeniably lovable though the camp variety entertainer is, why a winner?

I agree that the producers are preferring to show the lookers fighting, of course - the point of the thread. And you're quite right, I can't think of anything negative Joe's done, but that hardly seems enough to have it "sewn up" - what's Fran Cosgrove done that's come across as negative either? He's a nonentity with a somewhat inexplicably wedge-like distribution of cranial hair, and he fundamentally won't win because the world doesn't work like that. But he's probably had even less criticism than Joe, despite the Jodie Marsh association, because any criticism of Fran's funny voice would be viewed as anti-Irish. And I don't think Antonio or even Butler Burrell have had that much bad publicity, even though I am anxious to see if The Queen will step in to save him if he threatens to spill crown secrets if he loses. Why won't JSP win? Or Jim? Or Nancy? Or even Burrell?

Of course, I have been known to be wrong on occasion on these issues, in fact technically every single time ever, but I currently think - Janet to win!

Bob

Don't get me wrong here....I personally can't stand the bloke.....But he's going to win, and he's going to win easily. As far as I'm concerned people's minds are firmly set in the first week. It would take a major upset for someone to fall from favour in the second week....So despite Fran and Paul doing nothing wrong Fran was simply never famous enough to make an impact and Paul Burrell foolishly only sold an "exclusive" to just one newspaper making all the other rubbish him to spoil the story...Joe meanwhile is the cheeky chappy etc etc ect who people liked before he went in (why I don't know....I've personally told him his act is crap.....)...

I never seem to back the winners but I always get who the winner will be right....Joe is the one, for no other reason than people actually know who he is....and he's got a funny voice.

Two reasons why Joe will win.

1. He's a likeable guy
2. Most people haven't seen his show

Emma

And that too. If Frank Bruno came on one of these shows and just laughed every show. He'd probably win.

Emma

This is very true........

I strongly recommend Frank Bruno doesn't join the show. Or if he does, he has to bring Adam Ant and Paul Gascoigne with him. And some nurses. Surely the show won't descend into "Celebrity Mental Health Comedy Deconstruction" again, will it? It's already disturbingly close to being a jungle-themed franchise of The Priory.

Anyway, meanwhile back at the point, are the producers concentrating too much on the pretty girls spat at the expense of other stories, or are there actually no other stories to tell?

Bob

Put it this way... Joe's just made something to play draughts on

Emma

I can't fault that - he's unquestionably a winner then.

Bob

If he's the first to get "kinged" then he'll be hard to beat, yes.

Emma

Yes, they are concentrating too much on the pretty girls' spat, and I'm sure they would anyway but, since they have chosen a pretty boring bunch, there probably isn't much of interest going on.

If Joe Pasquale is destined to win, it is indeed because he shares that vital qualification with T Blackburn, P Tufnell, and K McFadden - it's the Everyman/-woman thing - he's just a regular bloke like you or me (well, maybe not like me ... and apart from the silly voice), he's fairly inoffensive, not too intelligent and therefore not threatening.

Well, given that we've seen "celebs" poo into buckets, eat live animals, have colonic irrigation and make pigs ejaculate on TV...it's only a matter of time...anyone like to take bets on when the first Celeb Priory...Live! will happen?

I think Joe's doing ok, I bet his comment on Sophie's "five year old colonic poo" won't make the final IAC edit...nor will Janet's "Fit In For Fu*k Off" group analysis skills because they add to the popularity of the pair. Wait and see.

If Bruno was on the show then no more watching for me. The most annoying false person you could ever meet.

I'd call it being the lowesty common denominator personally.....

Yes, that's about the size of it.