It's Life Jim, But Not As You Know It

Wednesday night saw the latest series of Celebrity Big Brother come to an end and with it, the crowning of comedian Jim Davidson as its winner.

There’s no doubt that many eyebrows will be raised around the country at the viewing public’s decision to vote such a previously controversial figure as their champion, especially given the demographic that we are led to believe vote in such shows, namely young women. This was a point not lost on fellow contestant Luisa Zissman, who was amazed when he survived every public eviction vote. Not only that, but Davidson has reality TV previous, having walked out of ITV’s Hell’s Kitchen in 2007 after accusations of homophobia and bullying towards Brian Dowling (himself a previous Big Brother winner). So what was it that inspired people to keep picking up their phones and voting for him?

The beauty of a show like Big Brother for a famous person with a contentious past is that viewers tend to respond to what they see during those 3 to 4 weeks, judging people by the actions they take while they are locked in that house. You could say that everyone is given the benefit of the doubt, until they do or say something controversial in front of the cameras of the Channel 5 show. This was proved early on in the series when former heavyweight boxing champion Evander Holyfield became the first evictee after making derogatory comments about gay people, suggesting that homosexuality was “not normal” and “should be fixed”. He was actually evicted by 2 fellow housemates, but he had been put in that position by the voting public, who had decided not to save him. The fact is that BB voters won’t stand for such nonsense and will use their democratic right to send the characters that come out with it back to celebrity oblivion at the first opportunity. Never was this proved more than in 2007 (the same year that Davidson caused the furore on Hell’s Kitchen), when the late Jade Goody found herself on the wrong end of a racism row. The public exercised their right to not only evict Goody, but then at the end of the series made Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty, the victim in the row, that year’s winner. Jade, having made her name on the regular series of Big Brother 4 and a half years previously, was sent back to relative obscurity, not before being vilified by the media, until her battle with cervical cancer, which she lost in March 2009, propelled her back into the spotlight.

So BB fans would soon have had Jim out on his ear if he had done or said something they weren’t happy with, they certainly had enough chances with him facing the public vote after being nominated by his fellow housemates at every opportunity. But the feelings of those inside the house were not being shared by those on the outside looking in, as they kept him there right to the very end.

It may be that old reality TV staple ‘the 'journey’ that helped Jim to win the show. He was supposed to be involved last year, until he was arrested just hours before launch night went live, following allegations of sexual offences. It was eventually announced later on in 2013 that no further action would be taken, due to insufficient evidence. Having been granted his place in TV’s most well known house a year later than originally planned, he was candid in describing how he had had the “year from hell” and admitted that winning the show may help to provide “closure”. This coupled with the adoption of a patriarchal status towards the end of the show’s run, being the oldest contestant left by some distance and being seen to offer counsel to some of the younger housemates, may well be what won him his place in the hearts of the Big Brother viewers. How long he stays there is now up to him.

Whether it was one of his initial intentions for doing the show or not, Davidson has now earned himself another shot in the limelight. He’s also secured himself a potential new fan base, a generation of people that weren’t really aware of him up until now. But they won’t tolerate the sort of humour that gave him his initial fame back in the 70s and they will soon turn their back if they hear something they don’t like.

It may be that Jim will turn his back on them and carry on putting on shows aimed at the same demographic that have found him entertaining for 40 years, just being able to charge a bit more for a ticket.

It remains to be seen what his next move will be and whether he will still be receiving the sort of adulation that accompanied his exit from the Big Brother house in 6 months time, or whether it will be a distant memory and he’ll be back telling distasteful jokes at the end of a pier to his loyal fans, possibly ruing what might have been. Right now the power is all his and, I personally will be fascinated to see what he does with it.