Letter seven...

Have you been watching I'm a Celebrity....? No me either. Nothing very exciting ever seems to happen on there. I reckon that once you've seen the first series you've seen 'em all. Although I do sneak a peek at the tabloids when I'm in Sainsburys because you never ever know when something might come along that tickles your fancy. And this week the news from the jungle tickled my fancy very very much. Nope...it wasn't whether Jordan/Katie and Peter will infact remarry and have another Cinderella wedding...nor whether Jordan/Kate and Alex Reid will infact marry inside a cage while Reid engages in a Cage Fight. Nor whether Jordan/Katie...actually it surprisingly had nothing to do with Jordan/Katie. No, what thrilled me beyond all belief was the news that Stuart Manning and Gino D'Acampo may well be facing criminal charges for killing and eating a rat on screen. It got me thinking about the fact that UK TV channels seem to be constantly airing things that get their contestants in trouble (think Frankie Boyle on Mock the Week) and though ITV must be given a concession due to the fact that their show is actually live I still thought I should offer a word of support to the 'victims' in this case. (I say 'victims' because in all these cases people have I suppose done something wrong. Even though I think it's been strange that TV Channels choose to broadcast sensitive material I'm not necessarily advocating the innocence of the contestants.)

Dear Stuart Manning and Gino D'Acampo,

I thought I would drop you a note to say that I think it is -though amusing from the outside- quite strange that you are facing charges for killing and eating a rat on I'm a Celebrity.... I'm sure it must be somewhat less amusing and a little more worrying for the two of you. I assume that, like many others, you went on the show to inject a little life into your careers and attract public attention. You probably weren't expecting to become criminals. I know they say all publicity is good publicity but...I'm not 100% certain I would necessarily be thrilled at the prospect of being summoned to court on...are they murder charges...mouseslaughter? I'm not really sure.

The papers outline the fact that you were only on a show, you weren't actually starving (although maybe quite hungry) so you probably didn't need to kill an animal. And before you claim that a rat isn't an animal I am the proud owner of a host of little gerbils so I'm quite attached to rodents. But this makes me wonder why you did kill the rat. Was it purely out of hunger? Were the cameras hidden so well that you forgot you weren't really surviving alone in the jungle and your manly hunter/gatherer instincts kicked in? Or were you really just hoping to attract a little attention?

Anyway I'm sure it'll all make sense soon. Possibly. Maybe. I'm not sure how serious a crime this is considered but I wish you all the best for your trial and hope it all works out for the best. Also I hope the rat risotto was nice.

Lucy