It’s becoming more common for us to see politicians engaging in the revelry of reality TV and building their public image, but at what cost does this come to us?
Last year, we saw former Health Secretary, Matt Hancock go down under into the Australian Jungle costing him a suspension as a Tory Whip. However, he isn’t the first politician to go on the popular reality show I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here and most definitely not the last. Nadine Dorries made an appearance on the show in 2012 and was the first sitting MP to take part, she also was suspended by the Conservative Party and later found herself in more legal trouble after failing to declare the suspected £40,000 she earned from the show.
Dorries told the Daily Mail that she was “doing the show because 16 million people watch it” and she was hoping to raise awareness of some of the issues she is interested in through heated campfire debates. Many questions have been raised about whether politics should be brought to reality TV and whether politicians should be able to go on such shows for political gain. The most common answer is no, yet we are seeing it more and more today.
Former Conservative MP, Ann Widdecombe also made an appearance on reality TV before the British nation during her stint on ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ in 2010, which gave the public some good laughs, conversely to her later appearance on ‘Celebrity Big Brother’ where she caused some controversy over her views on homosexual relationships. Ann, however, was not a member of Parliament during this appearance and also has ‘TV personality’ in her job title alongside ‘Politician’ which is perhaps why there was less contention over her appearances.
Most recently, Nigel Farage broadcaster and former leader of the Brexit Party, has bagged a whopping £1.5 million for finishing a respectable third on the latest season of I’m a Celeb. He did his best to “show no fear at all in the challenges” which seemed to win the British public over despite the myriad of controversies regarding his antisemitic, homophobic and racist behaviour. Should we be allowing politicians to ‘restore’ their public image at the expense of neglecting their party and polluting our TV? TV is becoming a parade for them to infiltrate our screens with even more politics rather than it being an escape from reality. Who wants to be having a political debate whilst watching people waltz over the Strictly dance floor?
Matt Hancock also made a second attempt to win the public over through his appearance on Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins which bagged him an extra £45,000 whilst neglecting his office duties. Despite him buffooning around and being told he “runs like an ostrich”, Hancock still managed to make it to the final and stay the test of time. Although less can be said for his position in Parliament.
Maybe it’s time for politicians to take a step back from TV and step back into the office. Let’s leave reality TV to the drama queens and people who know how to give us great entertainment.