You make me feel like ranting

What the hell is going on with Leo Sayer? I am referring to Celebrity Big Brother, which recently began yet another run on Channel Four. I was actually going to list CBB as another of my "Reasons To Be Cheerful" but perhaps that would be going too far. BB is essentially about nothing, just a group of human beings chucked together under one roof and subjected to public scrutiny on a daily basis. And people that go on about the programme providing a profound insight into the workings of the human psyche are talking a load of old cobblers; there is nothing particularly "deep" or "meaningful" about it.

And yet I confess to enjoying BB. It's a definite guilty pleasure; one of those programmes that draws you inspite of yourself. Seeing how people behave, interact and react when living in close quarters CAN be entertaining viewing, but inevitably it's the rows, flare-ups and simmering romances that make for the best bits. And some of the silly house challenges that the housemates get to do.

For me though, Celebrity Big Brother goes one step bettter than ordinary Big Brother. The latter features totally ordinary people plucked out of obscurity who by the end of each series have gained a certain amount of fame/notoriety. However, only a handful of the contestants have actually achieved any kind of credible media career post-BB. The former, CBB, features people who are of course already known to the public in some shape or form. And for me, what's most interesting is seeing what happens when these so called-celebrities are exposed to the rigours of house sharing and constant media attention. More often than not, the normally well-preserved facade of their public, celebrity self cracks or vanishes, to reveal the true personality beneath and and this can sometimes be quite an eye-opener ...

Take Leo Sayer for example. (Incidentally I should add I've not been watching the show every night but have seen enough to get the general gist of what's been going on). Mention of Mr Sayer instantly brings on images of a short, irritatingly jolly / bouncy pop singer from the 70s and 80s with a bubble perm. The annoyingly twee Radio-2-styled ballad "When I Need You". Leo's high-pitched falsetto vocal opening to "You Make Me Feel Like Dancing" - "Yooooooou got a cute way of talking!!" Aaaaah!! Actually that last song wasn't too bad. And I did really like Meck's reworking of "Thunder In My Heart"; they actually made Leo into a credible dance act, for heaven's sake. Anyway you get the picture. When Leo entered the BB house on the first day he seemed full of the joys of spring. Smiling, laughing, joking, chatty.

However anyone tuning in tonight will see that Leo has apparently undergone a total personality change. He has become a ranting, raving, miserable nutcase who is obviously no longer enjoying his time in the house. I lost count of the number of times he said "F*ck". He threw a hissy fit when he couldn't get into the house garden because the doors were locked. When his request to go outside was finally granted, Leo wished BB "A f*cking good night" (or words to that effect). Once released out into the garden he let fly further expletives, giving the camera the finger several times and shouting at BB to "F*ck off". Later on, in the diary room, Leo accused BB of psychological warfare, declaring that celebrities should be treated with more respect. When the voice of BB told him "BB accepts your comments" he replied "F*ck you and thank you very much". SUCH language! To add to this charming display of words, Leo also (rather inappropriately) announced in front of some of the female housemates that he "really needed a wank" and at a later point said that he felt like "showing BB my dick". Quite.

The bubble perm is still intact though. Let's be thankful for some things.

People don't always turn out how you'd expect, do they? And that goes double for celebrities.