JOURNEYS TO GLORY
THIS SITE IS DEDICATED TO THE AMAZING TALENT OF GARY KEMP
"The Mirror" interview 14/6/2003
Celebrity view: Former Spandau Ballet guitarist Gary Kemp, who guests in cop drama MIT this week, selects his top TV and the shows he loves to hate...
The Mirror (London, England); 6/14/2003
Thumbs up
Jonathan Ross is a genius and easily the funniest man on TV. I never miss his chat show. And I love The Simpsons - every episode is a classic. I am also a sucker for The Antiques Roadshow. I've always loved programmes on art, but I've only recently got into that one. I'm a right old fogey now, aren't I? Not very rock 'n' roll. I used to watch EastEnders, but I haven't seen it since my brother Martin left. It's just grinding on with the same old depressing storylines.
News flash
I'm a news addict, especially Newsnight and Channel 4 News because their coverage is thorough and never sensationalised. I respect Jeremy Paxman and Jon Snow because they don't take any nonsense from politicians. We are living in a world of PR and spin, so it's fantastic to see MPs squirming under Paxman's gaze. As for rolling news, BBC News 24 do the best job. CNN is too pro-American for me and I detest Sky News. It's just full of trivial showbiz stories and inane opinion polls.
No laughing matter
I have absolutely no time for Ant and Dec. They are total dross. I despise the way they laugh at their own jokes, which are completely unfunny anyway. I mean, Christ Almighty, they got an NTV Lifetime Achievement Award last year. That shows you the state of British television at the moment. Even they looked embarrassed about it. The other people that wind me up are royal correspondents like Jenny Bond. She seems to be utterly in awe of the Royal Family. I'm an out-and-out republican and her fawning makes me want to heave.
Calling the shots
I am appalled by the craze for the phone-in vote. When will the nation wake up and realise they are being ripped off? TV companies don't care what you think, they just want your money. On Big Brother and I'm A Celebrity... they make millions from the text votes alone. TV execs aren't interested in making a decent programme, all they're interested in is how they can manipulate viewers to pick up their phones and vote. Then they can just sit back and watch the cash roll in.
Pop goes the music industry
The worst thing that has ever happened to the British music industry is shows like Pop Idol and Fame Academy. This bland light entertainment hell is taking over the charts, creating the likes of Will Young, who, for me, is this generation's Des O'Connor. We now have talentless kids who can barely sing, and who can't write their own music, going straight in at No 1. Some of Girls Aloud couldn't hold a tune if their lives depended on it. And we've got men like Simon Cowell, Pete Waterman and Louis Walsh to thank for that. Anyone who looked vaguely interesting in the auditions, they ditched. Thankfully, my 12-year-old son Finlay wants to throw up when he sees shows like that. He'd rather listen to weird American rock bands. That must be why no one watches Top Of The Pops any more. It used to have 14 million viewers, now it has around two million. Because no one over the age of eight could give a monkey's about Gareth Gates or The Cheeky Girls
