London 2012 was put quite simply, amazing. I'm no massive sports fan but I lapped up every single minute of it, even surprising myself by ditching TOWIE and Big Brother to watch these athletes' heroic efforts.

But, and it is a big one, as a showbiz journalist one of the things that bored me senseless about the Games was the countless number of stuffy old curmudgeons praying it would finally wipe clean the smear on British culture - the dreaded obsession with celebrity.

Over the last decade, celebs are suddenly everywhere, mainly thanks to an explosion of reality shows that have turned everyday people into overnight stars without actually having to possess much in the talent department.

Many of those (including many of my highbrow journalist peers) who love nothing more than dishing out cheap digs at people like me who are interested in who Russell Brand is bedding now and what Cheryl Cole's latest haircut is, believed that the Olympics would deliver us the final death knell.

However, if they think that all of a sudden the nation is suddenly going to be obsessed with Rebecca Adlington's backstroke technique instead, then they're downright stupid.

SEE ALSO

• Waterloo Road's Chelsee Healey Gifts The World The Best Drunken Celeb Pictures Ever
• 'TOWIE' Wrap Party: Lauren Goodger Kisses Goodbye To The Reality Show (PICS)
• Katie Price Banned From Driving After Not Paying Speeding Tickets

LIKE HUFFPOST UK CELEB ON FACEBOOK | FOLLOW US ON TWITTER

The Olympics are only on once every four years yet our stars grace papers and magazines 365 days of every year. If the Olympics were on all the time, people would soon become as bored of athletes as they are X Factor wannabes. The games and those who take part are special because they're not overexposed.

And to call all celebrities untalented is a real disservice. Some of them are deservedly in the spotlight - take Adele for example. But even your Amy Childs, Jodie Marshs and Kerry Katonas of the world who seemingly don't have a skill to their name, have worked hard to make a name and a living for themselves, and let's face it, celebville would certainly be a much duller place if we replaced them with clean-cut Olympians.

Because that's the thing about our 'celebrity culture' - it's a non discriminatory place. We take the antics of our more ridiculous stars as they stumble out of Chinawhites for the nth time, at face value. As a nation of curtain twitchers and over-the-garden-hedge gossipers, they give us something to talk about. We realise reading about Lauren Goodger's drunk face is not as important as the achievements of our medalists, but boy it's entertaining and sometimes we just need to be bloody well entertained.

That's why Katie Price (and her z-lister pals) is just as much of a hero as Jessica Ennis, and long may they both reign.

Follow Ashley Percival on Twitter: www.twitter.com/@ashpercival