My two pence worth

In 2000, Channel 4 announced a new television series, Big Brother. Not knowing what the public reaction would be, they built a temporary studio and a temporary house and put in 10 random people. As a TV experiment, it was the first of its kind. What would happen ? How would complete strangers react to being locked up 24 hours a day with no contact with the outside world ? How would the dynamics of the show change when contestants were voted out on a regular basis leaving one overall winner ? How much money could they fleece from gullable viewers intent on throwing their hard earned cash down the drain ?

As it happened, the people got on quite well. And people getting on well in an enclosed environment is dull and makes viewers switch off. And a program with reducing viewing figures is a program with reducing advertising revenue.

So much so that by series 4, Channel 4 decided to get nasty. If the exhibits weren't going to provide the necessary car-crash TV required for extra viewers, Channel 4 were going to step in. There's no point in a zoo introducing big cats and letting them lie down all day, sooner or later the paying punters are going to want action.

Food is now used as both punishment and reward, basic hygiene is dispensed with and the inmates are forced to endure meaningless repetitive tasks. In short, the exhibits are being prodded to produce the TV Channel 4 need to keep the viewing figures high and the advertising revenue maximised.

However, there is a down-side to this. If you wind up a big cat for long enough, sooner or later it will take your hand off.

Normally mild-mannered celebrities unravel mentally before your very eyes. Previously released housemates are re-introduced to deliberately inject tension leading to Police intervention.

It's only a short step from there to the events of last week.

Any closed environment such as the Big Brother house is going to breed bullying. A group of strangers is always going to produce cliques and gangs, and a group of chain-smoking mentally challenged Essex girls is as good a group as any. Picking on the celebrity who can't work the oven seems a little prime-evil, but when arguments start over the usage of stock cubes, you know that the Channel 4 food tactic has come home to roost.

Were the arguments racist ? Not for me to say. If the victim feels the comments were racist, then the authorities are duty bound to investigate. When the victim changes her mind, is she just doing it because she wants piece and harmony in her enclosed environment ? Will she feel the same when the full coverage is made available to her, and not just the bits originally within earshot ?

How many times in the canteen, or in the pub, do you overhear the immortal "I'm not being racist, but ....." knowing full well that the rest of the sentence couldn't possibly be misconstrued as anything other than racist. Just by saying something isn't, doesn't make it so.

But who are the real villains here ? Three thick talent less in-bred bigots ?

Or the manipulative television executives editing output so as to maximise publicity, maximise viewing figures and increase advertising monies.