Steve
Davis has not entered the UK Championship, apparently so that he can instead
take part in ITV’s I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here.
This
will mean Davis going not to York to pot balls and sit in the BBC studio with
Hazel, JP and Hendry but travel to the Australian outback with rats, snakes,
grubs and spiders for company, as well as his fellow contestants.
Steve
has more than earned the right to do what he likes but it strikes me an as odd
decision. I’d be very surprised if he needs the money. The celebrity world has
never been one which has appealed to him.
Still,
at least he is famous for doing something tangible. Reality shows tend to be
self-perpetuating: finding members of the public to appear on them who thus
become famous and can appear on more and more.
Therefore,
Steve can expect to share a campsite with the denizens of mind-rotting trash
like the Only Way Is Essex and other gems of the schedules.
For
the uninitiated, I’m A Celebrity takes well known people and humiliates them on
television through a series of undignified tasks, such as lying in a coffin
full of rats.
It’s
exactly what John Logie Baird had in mind when he legged it down the patent
office.
It’s
been suggested to me by more than one person that Davis likes a challenge, is
fascinated by any game and that this represents a high stakes chance to test
himself.
Maybe,
but the contestants are at the mercy of the edit. There are two main ways to
get screen time: shout at and argue with everyone or cry.
A
thoughtful, dryly humorous person may not feature so prominently but Steve,
while not exactly appealing to the show’s core demographic, could still do very
well. He is much funnier than many people realise and is a likeable character.
The
last snooker player to appear on the programme was Jimmy White, who finished
third. Can Steve go even further?
Davis
was once the king of snooker, now he is aiming the become king of the jungle
when the programme starts on November 17.
This
is an unexpected development in a glorious career but I wish him the best of
luck.
9 comments:
Careless! Davis needs every win this season to stay on the tour. Not entering the UK Championship could cost him some more years in his snooker career.
Mind boggling decision. Though, it is HIS decision so who are we to question ?
That said, his game has been respectable of late and in addition to his obvious life long love of the game and the fact that he needs as much prize money as he can muster to prevent tumbling down the ranking list, it does appear to be an unusual turn of events.
What price then Romford Slim to be crowned King ?
I realise it's entirely up to Steve what he decides to do, but I loved him for his dignity and that's irretrievably gone now. Had anyone asked me I would have bet my house on it that he'd never take part in such humiliating rubbish. What makes it even more unfathomable is that he is, like Mics147 said, endangering his place on the tour by that decision! "An odd decision" is putting it mildly indeed, Dave.
It doesn't matter to me how he conducts himself in the jungle. I can actually see him coming across quite well and winning the crown as well as lots of new fans, but the fact that he has chosen to live in front of dozens of cameras, give up his privacy, spend his time with people desperate for money and attention, and kill animals for shocking entertainment alone has completely put me off after years of unwavering support. (No, I don't think he'd care if he knew and still I felt I had to get this off my chest.)
4:57 - 6/1 with a few bookies, I'd say he's got a decent chance if the producers give him enough airtime.
Given that the 'prize' is basically a chance to do loads of lowbrow TV stuff I'm not really sure why he's doing it, but fair play to him.
Even allowing for his divorce and that was quite a few years a go now and some poor investments coming home to roost he surely can't need the money. In fact ignoring the spins off after if applicable surely the fee they pay him will be little different to what he could have earnt in UK during same period. Bizarre. Runs strong risk of dropping off tour. A dignified man with a dry sense of humour who could be stitched up by the edits. Little to gain much to loose
Bizarre. Very very little to gain. Much potentially to be lost.
It's a pity Steve has decided to miss the UK championship (a tournament in which he holds the record for most wins - six titles) and prefers to eat insects!
Instead of knocking him, has anyone thought that maybe he is doing this to heighten the profile of his chosen charity?
Agree with most of the above. His approach and conduct throughout his career have been nothing short of exemplary. To miss the UK through choice seems incomprehensible.
The jungle is more of a gamble for those contestants of more mature years as there is more of a sense of desperation. 'Celebs' in their twenties for example can excuse their participation as a bit of a laugh and have little to lose.
If not for the money, who would swallow rancid ostrich eggs or lay in a bed of rats.
You just wouldn't.
In this context, I hope he is able to smash and grab the maximum amount on offer both directly and whatever comes his way subsequently.
He and White were never close friends but I'm certain Jimmy will have advised him. Not sufficiently to have put him off it would seem.
Interesting. That's for sure !
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