The Dark Side of Fame with Piers Morgan (2008– ) User Reviews

Jim Davidson's Big Breakdown

[Pixielix · 3/10 · 16 September 2008]

The unspeakable in pursuit of answers from the unemployable, Piers Morgan managed to make Jim Davidson look good for once, simply by sharing screen space with him. David Quantick was on hand for some talking head quips that almost became interesting - the hypocrisies of the 'Comic Strip' and 'Comic Relief' vanguard are worth documenting in and of themselves - Davidson came across like a man who, to paraphrase Scorsese's mission statement for the LaMotta character in 'Raging Bull' acted in his personal and now public life like he didn't deserve any of his trappings. Many would agree - his act made Freddie Starr seem like Robin Williams in retrospective comparison - but he was used by the establishment and eighties Tory government as a living breathing Robin Askwith character - a working class boy who knew his place, loved Queen and country and was "one of the boys". Davidson's disturbing mantra, ruminating then denying his homophobia, was revealing. Morgan gave the example of the considered goading of Brian Dowling on Marco Pierre White's 'Hell's Kitchen' last year. Coupled with Davidson's self-confessed dislike of women, this pointed to an inner struggle Morgan was either too obsequious or too incapable of probing. Was the grotesquely womanising friend-of-the-forces hiding a potential friendship of Dorothy? An unsympathetic figure, Davidson's biggest crime seemed not to be his clinging to the old values people accuse him of having anyway - it was that he never exploited the opportunities money gave him to educate himself out of them. Thatcher's child indeed.

The Dark Side of Fame with Piers Morgan

[jboothmillard · 7/10 · 3 November 2008]

Piers Morgan is a bit of a mixed bag, I thought he was a total knob on Comic Relief Does The Apprentice, and yet I like him as a judge on Britain's Got Talent, and this programme proves his journalistic skills are likable too. Basically he brings a celebrity into an interview to discuss their rise to fame or celebrity status, their success throughout, their break down (for whatever reason), and hopefully, their come backs. The celebrities he interviews included TV actress and model Pamela Anderson, comedian Jim Davidson, actor and singer Jason Donovan, actor Mickey Rourke, ex-Coronation Street actor Bruce Jones, and Celebrity Big Brother winner and model Chantelle Houghton. Very good!