Fruit come to ground creates public interest (9)
I believe the answer is:
limelight
'public interest' is the definition.
(celebrities are 'in the limelight')
'fruit come to ground' is the wordplay.
'fruit' becomes 'lime' (lime is a kind of fruit).
'come to ground' becomes 'light' (light can mean to land).
'lime'+'light'='LIMELIGHT'
'creates' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for limelight that I've seen before include "Chaplin 1952 film" , "(In the) public eye" , "The illumination on stages, or intense publicity" , "Public notice" , "Media attention" .)