Countess examples of this primarily on Big Brother but also to some degree on IACGMOOH?

Joey Essex, Charlotte from Geordie Shore, Brian Belo, Jade Goody, Kerry Katona ....... there are numerous others.

Genuinely don't understand what it is about reality TV that makes people vote for contestants who probably wouldn't pass the average job interview. Can someone please enlighten me?

Is it a British thing?
Sometimes people are a bit bitter and scathing of successful/really intelligent people so the names you mentioned above might be the kind of people that people are happier watching

The reason I mention being British is that my brother goes to university in the US and commented on how strange it is, that, before he won some grand slams, Andy Murray got a lot of criticism implying he was a failure of a tennis player when, if he was American, the US already would have been hailing him as a hero for what he had achieved already.

You might be thinking, 'how is that really related', but I think it's a slight nod to a lot of people in this country not really liking 'winners', hence people who advertise their lack of knowledge like the names you mentioned, can be popular

I believe it's because many of the public kind of see people like that as having attainable celebrity.
It's less intimidating. It makes celebrity and fame appear to be much closer to being within their grasp. Celebrities like this who are more like themselves the viewers than some Hollywood A list superstar who they believe they could never be.
If they support this notion of celebrity then it makes celebrity seem even more attainable.

Many people will see celebrities like Jade Goody, Brian Belo, and Joey Essex and think, "I could be them".
But they think of a sporting superstar or an A List Hollywood actor and think that celebrity is out of their reach and can only be a pipe dream for them.

Everyone loves the class clown

Joey is not stupid, he just couldn't be bothered to learn . He's very smart and street wise and could teach a lot of them how to manipulate people and situations to his advantage .

It's because they are being real and true to themselves innit

But Joey isn't funny.

Absolutely agree with this post

it makes people feel superior and better about themselves

Some of the contestants are wise to his game though

Me too.

As education and academic achievement has been devalued, aspiration becomes to be rich and famous by the quickest route possible, i.e reality TV.

Watching ITV 'This Morning' right now with Jeff Brazier and Alison Hammond earning a living from presenting....both entered the industry from realty TV.
Neither IMO have any talent for the job, but presumably people 'identify' with their persona.

While Joey, Charlotte etc are academically stupid they are not dull. I would much rather spend time around someone with a sunny positive attitude than someone academic but dull and negative.

I hate the dumb act as much as anyone but I can see why people would warm to Joey, he's fun, eager to please and up for the challenges.

Being seen as stupid can often go hand-in-hand with being perceived as funny, endearing and possibly someone to laugh at. It also makes them seem natural and unassuming, which is an important factor in reality tv, as it makes the audience believe they are being open and honest to reveal such embarrassing but well-meaning flaws.

The funny thing is that none of the other contestants can really accuse him for playing it dumb without looking bitter and mean. Because the only reason such a non-threatening character would bother you on this type of show is if you did see them as competition. And the British public don't find that sort of overly competitive green-eyed monster side very appealing in people. You're supposed to remain modest and laid-back with a 'come what may' attitude.

Matthew and Steve have both suggested he's playing a game and both have been accused of being mean

Why do people who are perceived as stupid do so well on reality TV shows?

I'd look at the people who vote .......

yes they are, the joke of Joey not knowing things that a five year old would and Charlotte pissing her drawers for comedy effect is bollock-crunchingly tedious


sounds like he would be replaceable with a Jack Russell Terrier

Good points.

Hahaha! I'm not a fan of the playing dumb act believe me, but they do seem like easy going people who are fun to be around which is probably why people like them so much, despite their stupidity.