Love it or hate it... there’s no denying that ‘reality’ has well and truly taken over popular culture.  Of course, whether these shows are faithful to what is ‘real’ is highly debatable,  but let’s face it, what really happened is not always that interesting. And reality as a genre relies heavily on drama, so sometimes events get helped along a little bit. You can’t deny that the notion of celebrity has changed, and that stars of reality shows are now some of the biggest celebrities on the planet.  Celebrity has become more accessible, with the idea that the Average Joe can get his 15 minutes of fame on any number of tacky TV shows.  So, we decided to have some fun this week and put together our list of our favourite reality TV stars.  Whether they are the stars we love, or love to hate, there’s no denying these crazy characters always bring the drama!

Nicole Polizzi, aka 'Snooki', The Jersey Shore
Responsible for single-handedly making the words ‘Guido’ and ‘Guidette’ officially part of the English language, The Jersey Shore has become a cult hit, with audiences all around the world fist-pumping in unison with the stars.  Nicole Polizzi, aka ‘Snooki’ is one of the breakout stars of the show.  With her hair-poof and orange tan, this pint-sized Guidette wins our vote because she’s absolutely hilarious! We love how she makes no apologies for her brash ways and tacky tan and fashion sense (Ed Hardy trucker caps are a particular favourite).

Mike Sorrentino aka 'The Situation', The Jersey Shore
This list just wouldn’t be complete without reality TV’s other current darling, Mike Sorrentino, aka ‘The Situation’ from The Jersey Shore.  He’s just such a loveable douche, and epitomises the Jersey Shore, ‘Gym, Tan, Laundry’ slogan.  As with Snooki, The Situation makes no apologies for the way he is, and while you have to wonder sometimes whether his whole demeanour is an act, who cares, because it’s very entertaining!  The Situation also makes our list because he’s cashed in on his fifteen minutes of fame in a big way – he has an exercise video coming out, and is in talks to write a book, plus has done numerous television appearances.

The Kardashian Sisters, Keeping up with the Kardashians
Obviously not one person, but Kim, Khloe and Kourtney make our list together, because they are far funnier as a threesome than they are on their own.  The crazy Kardashian family provides endless drama and entertainment on E’s Keeping up with the Kardashians.  Last season saw a wedding, a baby, a boxing match, endless drama with Kourtney’s psycho boyfriend Scott and so much more.  How can you not love them?

Paris Hilton, The Simple Life
Things have gone downhill for Paris now, thanks to that unfortunate Las Vegas drug bust, but Paris has to make the list as one of the original celebrity reality show pioneers.  Without her occasionally dim-witted behaviour on The Simple Life, shows like Keeping up with the Kardashians perhaps wouldn’t have been possible.

Olivia Palermo, The City
Whitney Port’s nemesis on the MTV show The City makes our list because she’s the best reality show villain.  It’s never that entertaining when people get along, so we love how Olivia stirs up lots of drama with Whitney and her colleagues at Elle magazine.  Plus she has fabulous fashion sense. We love to hate her!

Speidi, The Hills
Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montag of The Hills fame definitely bring crazy back.  Not on our list because we admire them in any way, but because they up the entertainment factor.  It’s hard to tear your eyes away from Heidi’s brand new face, and Spencer’s aggressive antics, and his love of crystals.  Car crash television at its best.  Unsurprisingly, the couple is now headed for divorce.

Heidi Klum, Project Runway
We have to include Heidi, host of Project Runway, simply because she’s a class-act.  She’s gone from model to mogul, and manages to balance three kids, a seemingly perfect marriage and various business ventures all while looking fabulous.

Simon Cowell, American Idol
Finally, no tribute to reality would be complete without television’s greatest villain, Simon Cowell.  We think that his cutting remarks and quick wit made American Idol  the success it was, so it will be interesting to see how the show fares now that he has departed.  Sorry Randy Jackson, you’re just not the same.

Do you agree with our favourites? Leave a comment below and let us know!

Be first to comment this article

Only registered users can write comments.

Please login or register.