MEDIA: I'M A CELEBRITY GET ME OUT OF HERE - AN EXPERT'S VIEW.(Brief Article)

After a five-show binge, Marcus Brown decides I'm a Celebrity ... is fun but, ultimately, formulaic.

I admit it, this time last week I wasn't an expert. I hadn't watched any of ITV's I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here. If you work in advertising and haven't heard of it you should consider a new career. But for those who have been trekking in the Outback, it's the latest reality TV show - eight celebrities swap their lavish lifestyles for meagre rations deep in the rainforest. Thanks to a bout of food poisoning from a not-so-lavish restaurant, I swapped the office for my sickbed. But undeterred, I set about becoming an expert.

Immersing myself in the programme I watched the first five hour-long editions in succession. Doing so didn't make me an expert, it made me an addict. I loved it. Ant and Dec guided us through endless moments of surreal comedy. Uri Geller sending Michael Jackson a physic birthday message on the wrong day; Rhona Cameron searching the upper echelons of Uri's pubic hair for nits; Darren Day fiddling with his be-towelled crotch in Christine Hamilton's face. Each moment defied belief.

Although addicted, watching five in a row felt like an overdose. In reality, they're scheduled at 9pm each night on ITV1. But my 'cramming' experience makes me think the show's two-week duration is right - even if Rhona the moaner is voted off first.

So while I'd watched the programme I still didn't feel an expert. What did the critics think? Before airing they panned the show. 'The definition of ...