Telly Talk: You can tell rugby player Gavin Henson has a bit more time on his hands since splitting from singer Charlotte Church. Or perhaps he just needs the cash?

The man has certainly braved two extremes in the current crop of celebrity reality television.

As if stripping off to reveal his six-pack in trousers that fitted like glue while tackling the rhumba on the Beeb’s Strictly Come Dancing wasn’t enough,  the father-of-two is also braving the elements in 71 Degrees North on ITV with a bunch of fellow C-listers also looking for something to do: Andrew Castle post-GMTV, Susie Amy post-whatever she did, and some other Hollyoaks actor who has failed see the light of day on any other small screen drama even though he left the Chester-based soap years ago.

Now, for those of us who appreciate a touch of extra effort, it may seem a shame that a sportsman like Gavin would win over far more fans by mastering that Latin hip wiggle than he ever would by reaching the 71st parallel. But that’s the world of celebrity.

And, more importantly, the ice-laden show in Norway is dull. I would rather watch paint dry or even snow melt than catch up with this lot and the various challenges they have to endure.

Watching the remaining contestants try to suggest Castle was the one with the sense of humour as he maintained he “wasn’t ready to quit yet” made me reach for the switch-off button quicker than the Voice of an Angle put the whole Henson split behind her and moved on to the next potential Mr Church – all of five minutes.

So imagine my relief with news leaking today of the contestants already signing up for I’m A Celebrity … Get Me Out Of Here. Linford Christie has supposedly signed up for the show for a reported £80,000. Who cares, it will be worth every penny. The increasingly-miserable weeknights as winter looms are in need of some decent light entertainment and that’s exactly what I’m A Celebrity is.

Ant and Dec present with the perfect mix of sarcasm and genuine amusement at how their jungle inmates are getting on. And no doubt producers will come up with a decent mix of celebrities to get us hooked before we know it. At least we know Gavin won’t be among them with his commitments on Strictly. I doubt even eating a few witchetty grubs would give this man a personality.

Yes the outback is coming back and I for one can’t wait.

By Tracey O’Sullivan