Telly Talk: Now surely after being an MP (for 13 years!!), Lembit Opik would be able to spot a snake in the grass or even a slippery customer in the box. Although, then again, boxes, particularly those of the ballot variety, have not been too kind to him of late.

The snake in his latest box of doom certainly wasn’t kind to him either. In fact, it took a chunk out of his hand. But unfortunately for Lembit not as big a chunk as a second snake took out of Shaun Ryder’s in last night’s jail break challenge. Lemsip’s nip couldn’t compete with Shaun’s dramatic gritted teeth response to a full-on attack.

And what a shame because the thought of the first public vote – one which Lembit was obviously determined not to lose, no doubt imagining the headlines after his defeat in the general election earlier this year – really rallied him.

He was on fire in this task, even proving he was not above a few dirty tricks to complete it first. There was certainly no love lost after he had spent a night in solitary confinement alongside Stacey, Dom and Shaun in identical cells. A surefire bonding experience? You must be joking. Instead we got an insight into the corridors of power. Every man for himself when the ultimate prize is up for grabs.

They had to retrieve keys to escape and after the snake bite drama the last few were hidden in a bowl of porridge. Lembit was the first to work it out as the others refused to touch it, thinking it was some nasty jungle fayre they had to eat to get the keys.

While pretending to be brave enough to be the first to try it he didn’t tell the others and fished out the keys to give himself a head-start to opening his 20 locks to freedom.

He openly admitted he was determined to win; even Dom spotted how important it was to Lembit not to be up for the public vote.

“He wants it so much I am going to go for it just to wind him up,” he said, although he may have needed it more as he was in the bottom two with Sheryl Gascoigne.

And if Lembit needed any more proof that nice but dull doesn’t win, Sheryl was it as she was first to be voted off.

So perhaps he should live up to that song he sang so badly last night in the Karoke challenge – “Don’t Worry be Happy”, but if nothing else make it interesting.

We don’t need a snake bite every night – but it helps.

By Tracey O’Sullivan