Barrtalk: 'I’m A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here' back on our screens for a 25th year

I’m not the biggest fan of ITV's I’m A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here, but of course I’ve been roped into watching it once again by Her Indoors, who loves her daily slice of life from the damp Australian jungle.

As per usual, I’m struggling to place half the supposed 'famous' celebs, whom I’ve never seen before nor heard tell of.

My sons tell me that ‘Angry Ginge’ is a big deal on youtube [or some other similar online platform] and he’s a United fan, so that’s okay with me. Young Manc rapper 'Aitch' is also a big United man, as is three-quarters of his native Manchester.

I do admit, though, that I'm enjoying Ruby Wax, who is a bona fide ‘big name’ [at least she was 25 years ago when I knew her]. Wax (72) has taken it upon herself to interview many of the other particpants and she has a great way of getting people to open up, which must be manna from heaven for the show’s producers.

Martin Kemp is another of my vintage – he of Spandau Ballet and Eastenders fame – and of course all of the women viewers of a certain age are swooning over him still, even though he's in his mid-sixties.

All of it is a bit saccharine sweet for me, but it is watchable, and seems to be drawing humongous viewing figures once again this year, its 25^th consecutive airing.

To underline the unshakable popularity of I’m A Celeb, hosts Ant and Dec announced the other night that more than two million votes had been cast for one of its ‘Bushtucker Trials’ – a number, which is all the more impressive when you consider that us Irish viewers cannot vote to swell the numbers further.

Two million-plus votes for a midweek TV show is more than the total poll of the Irish Presidential election (1.6m) and more than double the votes gained by the winner Catherine Connolly (910,000).

Speaking of stratospherically high numbers, did you know that presenters Ant and Dec have a net worth of around £62 million, bringing their combined total to approximately £124 million?

They do have an undeniable enduring charm, and they seem like nice guys, I have to concede, but how their hackneyed and predictable style of humour can possibly be worth that much beats me.

The duo has come a long way since the 1989 BBC children's drama Byker Grove; But I still can’t figure out which is which!

[I think Ant is the taller one, but I wouldn’t stake my life on it.]

Frankenstein is a must-watch

I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed the magical new Frankenstein movie on Netflix (pictured above). It’s a real throwback; visually captivating and enthralling throughout.

Directed by the brilliant Guillermo del Toro, it’s an otherworldly gothic fairy tale based on the classic novel by Mary Shelley, which I’ve never actually gotten around to reading yet [even though it’s only been out since 1816].

I particularly enjoyed the tete-a-tete between the ‘Monster’ and its creator, Victor Frankenstein, in the new film, which lasts almost three hours but never feels long. Always a good sign.

Critic Roger Ebert points out how the writer-director makes something almost new, and definitely rich and strange, out of a story we all thought we knew well.

It’s a common misnomer that the monster in the story is called Frankenstein, when he is in fact its creator, the one who made it undead. The actual monster remains unnamed.

In typical del Toro fashion, the film explores the humanity at the centre of things, rather than going for ‘jumpscare’ and passé horror moments.

And ironically, in the end, it is Frankenstein who comes out as the true villain, wearing down the inherent curiosity and goodness of his creation, who craves love and acceptance.

The film is available now on Netflix and – with its gothic nature and dark, cold weather – it feels perfect for this time of the year.

Cold weather and rigor mortis!

And finally this week, the recent cold weather snap seemed to envelop us out of nowhere. All of a sudden the heavy coats, hats and scarves were being rooted out of the back of presses across Inishowen.

It feels like it was only a few weeks since the warmth of the summer sun, and here we are plunged into the Arctic again, with perennial joint pains [knees in my case] springing up in the icy chill.

READ NEXT: Barrtalk - Women remain woefully excluded from politics here

Still, it’s not all bad [every cloud has a silver lining].

I ran into one local man, who reminded me, with a smile on his face, that the freezing conditions are great for killing the bacterial infections and viruses, which threaten us at this time of year. Which is true.

And, speaking of stiff joints. . . I was chatting to another local wit, who was giving me a rundown of his recent health woes and the treatment that has helped them overcome them.

As we were finished speaking, he laughed: “It’s an awful disease, this rigor mortis!”

You can say that again.