Entertainment

Jamie Laing: Reality TV shows have become a career path

Fame ‘is not a job’, the Made In Chelsea star said.
Fame ‘is not a job’, the Made In Chelsea star said. Fame ‘is not a job’, the Made In Chelsea star said.

Jamie Laing has said appearing on reality television programmes has become a “career path”.

The Made In Chelsea star told the That Gaby Roslin Podcast people wrongly think “fame is a job”.

Laing, 32, who joined Made In Chelsea in 2011, was also a finalist in the last series of Strictly Come Dancing.

BBC Radio 1’s Teen Awards – London
BBC Radio 1’s Teen Awards – London (Matt Crossick/PA)

Discussing how reality television programmes have changed, he told the podcast: “These TV shows, it’s become a career path, so people think that they can make a career out of it.

“I think there’s a danger with that because it’s like a lot of people who go to do Love Island or the jungle or Strictly.

“I feel like if you do these shows, there has to be an idea or a game plan behind it, not in terms of how you’re going to portray yourself, but in terms of what you want to do, because once you become famous, you’re then just famous.

“But in terms of what you’re doing, it doesn’t really change that much.

“I think what people think is that it’s going to change everything for you, they think that your world’s going to blow up, and actually nothing really changes.”

Laing said “you have to have an understanding of what you want to do if you go and do these shows, if you want to be a presenter, if you want go and help the planet”.

He added: “I think that’s a problem, that people think fame is a job, but it’s not a job.”

How To Be Single European Premiere – London
How To Be Single European Premiere – London (Ian West/PA)

Laing said appearing on Made In Chelsea is a “very public” experience.

He added: “I think what happens, is with these TV shows that a lot of people want to go to heaven without experiencing a bit of hell.

“People want only good… so people think joining reality shows or Made In Chelsea and think it’s just going to be super fun and easy and relaxed, I’m just going to have a great time and you’re probably going to get followers but actually what you don’t think about is how you have to show your full life, the highs and the lows, and how sometimes you’re not portrayed in a way and you like the look.”

That Gaby Roslin Podcast is available on all podcast streaming platforms. Episodes are released every Monday.