ITV's answer to The Apprentice?

This is all getting very incestuous.

For years the popular press has thrived on stories from Reality TV – now Reality TV is setting its sights on life behind the scenes of the print media. And who better to give us an insight into the trials and tribulations of producing a glossy magazine than a bunch of Z-listers?

Deadline hits the screens next Wednesday (4th April) at 10pm on ITV2 and 11pm on ITV1. The magazine will be edited by Janet Street-Porter, with Darryn Lyons running the picture desk and Daily Star's copy editor Joe Mott.

The celebrity reporters are:

Celebrity Love Island evictee, Abi Titmuss
Radio 1 presenter and Celebrity Big Brother evictee, Lisa I’Anson
Ex-Neighbours actor and Australia’s Big Brother evictee, Blair McDonough
Ex-Eastenders actor Chris Parker (remember Spencer Moon?)
Dean Holdsworth – football player
Iwan Thomas MBE – athlete
Spoof chat show host and writer for Independent on Sunday, Dom Joly
Spooky presenter of FTN’s Most Haunted, Yvette Fielding
Writer, theatre producer and famous daughter, Imogen Lloyd Webber
Former ITV This Morning presenter and estranged wife of a quiz show compere, Ingrid Tarrant

In keeping with the experience of most newsrooms these days, the staff numbers for the publication are to be systematically reduced – indeed Ms Street Porter’s task is to determine each night which celebrity is the most incompetent and give them their marching orders. Comparisons with Sir Alan Sugar are inevitable.

Only last November, Michael Grade announced his first priority was to improve ITV programming. Anyone anticipating a new era of creative, blue sky, out-of-the-box thinking will find this combination of tired old formats and uninspiring celebrities an interesting response to the challenge of winning back ITV’s wayward audiences.


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Deadline   celebrity  reality TV  ITV  Michael Grade