"A real plane, flying to real places, staffed by real celebrities!" Well at least the ITV2 pitch was half right, because there were definitely real planes involved. However, we'd be stretching it a bit to categorise Johnny Shentall, Chico and Amy Lamé as genuine celebs. CelebAir sounded awful on paper and didn't get much better when it actually screened. Eventually won by former So Solid Crew member Lisa Maffia (not that it really mattered by the end), we very much doubt we'll be seeing a second series any time soon.
It's pretty bad when Rebecca Loos tugging off a pig is a show highlight, but when a giant green duck is your eventual winner, its probably best to throw in the towel. Amazingly managing to last two whole series, The Farm was Channel 5's second attempt to create a rival to Big Brother after Back To Reality bombed. Hosted first by Ed Hall and second time around by Colin & Justin, it crowned Jeff Brazier and Keith Harris & Orville as champions. What they won apart from a loss of dignity (some hay? a pig?), we're still not quite sure. It would have been higher on the list, but any show that throws together Lionel Blair and Flavor Flav gets a little bit of our respect.
What do you get if you hire fading MTV presenters Donna Air and Matt Brown, recruit the services of Richard Blackwood, Dean Gaffney and Samantha Fox and cobble together a series format on the back of a beer mat? Late night ITV series The Club, that's what! All three 'celebs' were asked to run a bar at Nylon in London, while a complex and needless elimination element was incorpoated for bar staff, forcing the trio to hire and fire. Gaffney was victorious and got handed £15,000 for his time. It surely can't have been enough to wash away the shame.
For the lowly standard of celebrities alone Five's Holiday Rep had to be in here. From the sad (kiss 'n' tell girl Emma Jones) to the desperate (Noel from Hear'Say, BB's Nadia) to the downright bizarre (Syd Little, Nancy Lam), it didn't just scrape the barrel, it took a whole flipping chainsaw to it. The first series, hosted by Toby Anstis and Nancy Sorrell, was based in Ayia Napa and was about as classy as an Essex girls' hen-do on the Cyprus resort. The worst thing of all was that someone commissioned this nonsense for a second series!
There's many reason why Celebrity Wrestling tops our list. Kate Thornton was a host, it classified Annabel Croft, Leilani Dowling and Mikey Green as celebs, and those horrendous nicknames (James 'Gentleman Jim' Hewitt, Kate 'The Brawler' Lawler). But worst of all was the actual content. With very little actual wrestling and even fewer real celebs, it was a stinking mess from start to the graveyard-slot Sunday night finish. An embarrassment for all involved!
What do you think was the worst ever reality TV show? Have we forgotten any stinkers? Put your opinions below!
