Celebrity Fit Club
Revision as of 20:54, 12 January 2006
Contents |
Host
Co-hosts
Series 2 team captains: Vanessa Feltz and Freddie Starr
Coaches: Dr Adam Carey (doctor), Marissa Peer (life coach), Harvey Waldon IV (physical instructor)
Broadcast
ITV1, 2002, 2004-6
Synopsis
Yes, yes, we all know that the 11th letter of the title should be something else but let's be honest - it's the only concession to the celebrities' dignity on this whole series.
This was a format that evolved from Fat Club, a documentary featuring eight members of the public being cajoled and bullied into losing weight. It is now law in England and Wales that all programmes have to have a celebrity version, which subequently appeared with the aforementioned change of vowel. The first series was still very much in the documentary mode, with quite unsatisfying reveals and you often had to tune into the next week's programme to see how they did.
However, they really got hold of the second series and turned it into more of a Light Entertainment event, hence its listing on this site. Now the celebs had a proper dramatic weigh in before the panel of their three experts, judges and mentors. They were also playing as a team, so if they let themselves down they also let the team down. The results were signified by a rather wacky pair of giant scales that all eight celebrities sat on.
Of course, the real entertainment comes in along the way. There's arguments, disagreements, people theatening to quit, laughter, tears, disappointment, success... all the elements of a typical reality show. The key battle is between Harvey Waldon IV, a tough no-nonsense US marine trainer who tends to favour the stick rather than the carrot. He has a sense of humour, but it is so dry it ought not to go too close to the North Sea, lest it soak it up.
Many of the participants relapse when out of the glare of Harvey - for example 'winner' (or should that be 'biggest loser'?) of series 1, Jonathan Coleman came back for a 2nd try. That said, the results over a reatively short time are dramatic and it contains more laughs than nearly any modern day BBC sitcom you'd care to mention.
Catchphrases
"Pop up on the scales for me"
"I'll see you here next week and... PLEASE DON'T CHEAT!"
