Nay Sayer
Oh Leo, Leo, Leo, Leo, Leo, Leo. What did you do?
When Leo Sayer walked in to Celebrity Big Brother, it was his to win. H from Steps, Jo from S'Club, Danielle Lloyd were fame seeking desperadoes, Dirk and Jermaine the Hollywood weirdoes, Shilpa was the wrong class, sex, nationality and, let's face it, race to really garner a groundswell of support. Cleo had a chance, but it was Leo's to lose.
He fitted the bill perfectly; just enough profile for people to know who he was, but he'd been out of the limelight long enough to avoid accusations of fame seeking. He'd been successful, had his time, left his legacy and was now able to drift around the outer rim of the celebrity world like a kindly uncle. He knew everyone; Donny Tourette had been to his house, he greeted Jermaine with 'Hi Jermaine, how's Michael', even Kuddly Ken Russell knew him. All he had to do was hang out in the house for three weeks being small and curly wearing that bemused look on his face. Then he could come out (and not in an H way - H from Steps, gay, who knew?), release a Greatest Hits compo and enjoy a little Indian summer.
Then he revealed the monster. It's not just his slow mental breakdown, that could happen to anyone; it's the inner feelings he revealed. He is Leo; no surname required and he is Legend. He hated celebrity, then dismissed Jo from S'Club as a non-celebrity because she didn't wear expensive clothes and didn't have a car. S'Club are has-beens, according to Leo. Now, the concept of a has-been is entirely subjective, but it's been 23 years since Leo had an original hit whereas at least Jo saw chart action in this millennium. Then he flounced out due to a percieved lack of respect; when the key to winning Celebrity Big Brother is to demonstrate that you don't need anyone to validate your celebrity through fawning respect.
One thing for certain about this year's Celebrity Big Brother is that it's crushingly dull, the other is that Leo Sayer leaves the show a damaged man.
Whilst I'm at it; when Jack (Jade's boyfriend) entered the house he introduced himself as a football agent. Fair enough, at least he didn't want to be his legacy to simply be Jade's Boyfriend. I would wager that he's not a very good football agent given that he's entered a house cut off from the outside world just as the January transfer window opens.
Look, I've never pretended to be vying for a job with The Telegraph.
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