Jowell blasts reality TV

Culture Minister Tessa Jowell today launches an attack on ITV's I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here, warning a constant diet of reality television will spark a viewers' revolt.

She condemned the growing number of "has-been" celebrities dominating the screens and revealed that she had deliberately not watched a single episode of the jungle game show currently being watched by millions.

"If they weren't mostly - save their blushes - has-been celebrities, there might be more interest," Ms Jowell complained in an interview with the Financial Times. She added: "I think that if we saw many more programming hours taken over by reality TV, I hope you'd begin to see a viewers' revolt."

Reality TV shows have become a lucrative mainstay of broadcasters' schedules because of their low cost and the opportunity they offer to raise additional revenue from text messaging and other sources.

The minister also criticised the BBC for missing its targets on the amount of programming BBC3, its new youth channel, had to source from independent companies and admonished BBC chairman Gavyn Davies over his failure to commission enough programmes from independent producers.

She went on to warn: "If these new channels (BBC3 and the corporation's other digital ventures) don't meet the terms of their approval then I will withdraw approval from them."

Her criticism of I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here comes just days after producers were forced into admitting that crocodiles braved by contestant Catalina Guirado as part of her jungle challenge were in fact fake plastic models with electronic blinking eyes. They also admitted that experts had cleared the Australian camp of any dangerous wildlife the day before the contestants arrived and that giant umbrellas had been built over the camp to keep the contestants dry.

The show's producers were also accused of manipulating live footage to make it look as if celebrities were arguing when they were not.

Insiders on the Queensland jungle set say the only fight which is supposed to have happened - between model Catalina Guirado and soap star Danniella Westbrook - was in fact pure fantasy, with large chunks of footage being cut together to make it look as if the pair had a serious row over an hour-and-a-half long period.

One source said: "Nine days worth of comments have been condensed to make it look as if there was a solid hour and a half of bitching. It's all been so exaggerated."

The accusation comes the day after Granada chiefs decided to try to spice up the show by forcing the remaining celebrities to speak openly about the high and low points of their lives. Linda Barker fought back tears as she spoke about the recent death of her mother and Toyah Willcox said she regretted not seeing more of her husband.