Celeb Big Brother struggles to find contestants

According to a report on Digital Spy the producers making Celeb BB are struggling to find any quality stars for their show. I love BB and Celeb reality shows, so I expect to watch it, but I also expect celebs I have heard of, not ex-soap stars, has-been pop stars and people with vague claims to celebdom.

In my opinion, the main problem that these producers face is competition for ITV's I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here which has a reputation of turning careers around. Let's look at some evidence:

The first Celeb BB was won by comedian Jack Dee who wanted to go home throughout the whole experience, and didn't really want 'celebrity' or a career move out of it. The show was mainly memorable for Chris Eubank being a twat (he got a 'At Home with the Eubanks' show out of it at least) and Vanessa Feltz practically having a breakdown on TV. The second series was won by ex Take That member Mark Owen. He got a new record deal out of it, but after a minorly successful first single, disappeared off the face of the earth again. That series was most remembered for the negative speculation surrounding the 'success' of Les Dennis' marriage to Amanda Holden (they split up two months after he came out of the house) and his bizarre friendship with rapper Goldie.

I'm a Celeb series one was a slow burner. Christine Hamilton, wife of disgraced MP Neil Hamilton reaffirmed her reputation as a battleaxe, and has continued to send herself up. The show's eventual winner Tony Blackburn was not there to become a real celeb but has become 'retro hip' with his laid back style on laid back late night radio shows. The show's runner-up was 'It' Girl Tara Palmer-Tomkinson, previously only famous for her drug habit. Now clean, neurotic and slightly mad she was the most talked about contestant and now does TV presenting work (including the ITV2 follow up show to the subsequent series of I'm a Celeb).

The second series was when the concept came into its own. Still presented by the popular Ant & Dec, it was one by former cricketer Phil Tufnell and resulted in new TV work for him. Runner-up, TV interior designer Linda Barker has earned a fortune in endorsements and promotions with various home stores and her own TV shows. Popular contestants have earned £1-2m from the extra work their new high profile generates as the tabloids pick up on the snowball success of the show.

Come series Three, I'm a Celeb.. was attracting a higher calibre of celeb in the shape of glamour model Jordan who already has a high profile in the tabs. She was joined by punk rocker Johnny Rotten, 80s pop star Peter Andre, former Atomic Kitten Kerry McFadden and news correspondent Jenny Bond. Jordan and Peter Andre's relationship was talked about a lot (and is still happening several months on), but the star of the show was Kerry McFadden. Everyone expected her to quit, she was feeling ill at the beginning, missed her kids and was a wuss when faced with insects or anything remotely scary. Naturally she was voted, by the public, to do all the trials. Kerry ultimately won the show by being herself and having fun.

Thus the tabloid following coupled with the more extreme tasks makes the success of I'm A Celeb over Celeb BB. The career opportunities and wealth that comes to contestants of I'm a Celeb make it a celebrity's first choice of Reality TV show to kick start their career or change their image. Thus the producers of I'm a Celeb have first choice for their show, and Big Brother has to fight for the scraps with all the other celebrity Reality TV shows that are about.