PREVIEW: Celebrity - A 21st Century Story, BBC Two

The world of celebrity has, in just 20 years, gone through a set of seismic changes driven by some of the most dramatic technological and cultural developments in recent times.

Today, celebrity is currency. It has made some in the industry millions of pounds, but for others fame has come at a terrible cost. The people pulling the strings and the celebrities themselves are ready to lift the lid on the realities of the fame machine.

Interviewees include famous faces Katie Price, Charlotte Church, Ed Balls, Kerry Katona, Spencer Matthews, Rachel Johnson, Rebecca Loos, Jamie Genevieve, Georgia Toffolo, Amy Childs, Stanley Johnson, Omarosa Manigault Newman & Lord Sugar alongside a host of industry figures and journalists including Matt Frei, Perez Hilton and former newspaper editors David Yelland, Dawn Neesom & Martin Townsend.

Abigail Priddle, Commissioning Editor at the BBC, says: “With famous faces and household names offering us their candid reflections on the price and power of fame, this series is a fascinating exploration into the cult of celebrity, which has become such a defining feature of the past 20 years, and offers a tantalising glimpse ‘behind the curtain’ at how the celebrity machine actually works.”

Celebrity: A 21st Century Story, 4x60’ begins at 9pm on Tuesday 29th December.