First impressions

It’s very early days indeed out in the jungle but despite the first night dramas, few of this year’s crop of celebs have managed to capture my imagination.

I’ve yet to notice the spikiness of a Lydon or a Street-Porter, the quirkiness of a Burrell or an Andre or the quivering jellyness of an Appleton.

A few early thoughts on the mob:

Jilly

Best known for her flowery descriptions of wine on the old Food and Drink show, Jilly was presumably cast in the jolly hockey sticks role.

She has yet to come across as being that jolly and there seems to be a bit of repressed anger in there.

Watch her. She could be a volcano just waiting to erupt.

David

Presumably pigeonholed as this year’s eccentric, he comes across as driven and determined and not the sort to suffer fools gladly. The big question is wether he can adapt his skills to work as part of a team. I fear that rows are inevitable.

Sid

Nice Guy

Sid showed great determination and great tolerance when joining David in the first bush tucker trial.

He is currently coming across as Mr. Nice Guy. He could be a winner.

Carol

Cast in the Tough Old Bird role, so puking up during a parachute jump doesn’t really fit the stereotype which is probably why it was ignored in the opener.

Carol seems to have picked up her nocturnal toilet habits from watching Paula Radcliffe run a marathon. Not the most pleasant sight in the world.

It will be interesting to see if she and Jilly become allies or enemies.

Jimmy

Sneaking condiments into the camp in a teddy bear? It was hardly squeaky-clean behaviour was it?

Jimmy could well be the surprise package here if he continues to try to pull fast ones.

Jenny
If she does as well as Kerry did it will be a major achievement but I can't help but suspect that her presence is merely a last gasp attempt to resurrect a flagging solo career.

Whoever wins this year’s X Factor should be booking their spot on next year’s show right now.

Kimberley

I know that tensions run high when you’re dangling in midair but the token Aussie was remarkably curt with Elaine as she floundered helplessly on the tightrope.

A short fuse should lead to some spectacular fireworks.

Elaine

I thought they were wrong to put Brian Harvey into that pressure cooker environment and the same goes for Elaine.

Putting her back in there when she recovers would too exploitative to view comfortably at home. Of course we enjoyed seeing celebs endure discomfort but there’s no joy in seeing them become ill.

Sheree

Jumpy

There was certainly a bit of attention seeking going on when Sheree protested about the parachute jump before finally going through with it.

Maybe she was genuinely terrified but she is an actress remember. We need to be on our guard against having our opinions swayed by manipulative celebs.

Anthony

He has yet to make an impression on me at all. Like I said though it’s early days yet.

Ant and Dec sailed through the proceedings in their usual unflappable style but there’s no Hogan the koala (no relation) this time around.

A true star of the show has yet to emerge and I fear that if David Dickinson becomes too dominant, it could be a difficult series to watch.

More from me in a couple of days.