Please Stop Saying ‘Who?’ Every Time A Celebrity Line-Up Is Announced

Here we go again. Another day, another announcement of the line-up of a celebrity-focused TV show. This time, it's Celebrity MasterChef, which has today revealed who will be participating in its next seris. Yet again, social media has been awash with the inevitable barrage of a specific kind of comments that comes down to denying these stars' wattage.

'Who?', one asks. 'Never heard of them', another proclaims. 'Isn't this supposed to be 'Celebrity' MasterChef?' another adds with self-satisfaction. These people claim - truthfully or otherwise - to not know the identities of the twenty people chosen to show off their culinary skills and, in doing so, show themselves up. It is my social media pet peeve, along with comments like 'is this really news?' when a celebrity website posts that one of the most famous people in the world has had a baby or got a new boyfriend. The answer is, 'yes, it is news. It's just not written for you.'

Let's look at Celebrity MasterChef specifically. Who is participating in the next celebrity series? Quite a few people, actually. Happy Mondays star Bez, Strictly's Johannes Radebe, actress Su Pollard, presenter Joe Swash, Blue's Duncan James, Britain’s Got Talent's Nabil Abdulrashid, The Great British Sewing Bee judge Patrick Grant, comedian Munya Chawawa, presenter Melanie Sykes, former EastEnders Rita Simons and Michelle Collins, singer Megan McKenna, model Penny Lancaster, The Repair Shop's Will Kirk, general icon Katie Price, ex-footballer Dion Dublin, author Gavin Esler, Paralympian Kadeena Cox, Love Island's Kem Cetinay and actress Melissa Johns.

Do I know who all twenty of these people are? No. And I'm Celebrity Director at Grazia: it is literally my job to know all about celebrities. But I have blind spots. I have never seen The Repair Shop, so Will Kirk's face doesn't ring a bell. I have never watched a football match in my life, so I would pass Dion Dublin in the street without batting an eyelid. But I don't log on to Twitter to complain that Will, Dion et al's inclusion in the show makes a mockery of the celebrity reality sphere. I accept that these people are famous. They're just not famous to me.

This happens on Strictly Come Dancing every year, when they include a YouTuber or influencer-type. People of a certain age get red in the face - again: 'Never heard of them!?' or 'I thought Strictly was for famous people?' - about these contestants. But they might have millions of followers across social media. Their fame is quantifiable. Younger viewers might say 'never heard of them' about Debbie McGee or Jennie Bond of Felicity Kendal, and would be treated with scorn by older generations for disrespecting what they would class as bonafide celebrities.

Proudly pointing out that you are not aware of the identity of famous people on a TV show is annoying for several reasons. Firstly, it expresses pride in ignorance, which is never a positive. Secondly, it is often a display of snobbery (as it generally targets young stars or those from certain industries, like reality television, soaps or the influencer sphere) or even bigotry, as often those attacked seem to be the non-white participants. Thirdly, it's often dishonest: you cannot tell me with your hand on your heart that you don't recognise a single person on a list. And finally, it's disrespectful to the individuals, and to those who work on the programme. Some team has spent a very long time coming up with a group of twenty wide-ranging people from all spheres of entertainment, who are interested and available to participate. Managing the schedules alone is a gargantuan task.

It's not an easy feat, and you're not going to find a crowd of A-Listers waiting in the lobby, desperate to sign up. You have to find a mix, which is why the James McAvoys and Daisy Ridleys of the world mix in the Bake Off tent with the less explicitly famous comedians or presenters.

It is not shameful to have cast a twenty-strong crowd from which an average person could only name five. If everyone does that, finding a handful of famous faces in the batch, then someone has done their job well. What is shameful is logging on to deride people for having the gall to be successful in an industry in which you have no interest.

Don't recognise someone? Why not use your online time to find out who they are, rather than talk about the fact that you don't. You never know: you might become their biggest fan.

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