Column 8

Hard on the heels of the new usage of deranged as a verb (Column 8, yesterday) comes this marvellous piece of ghastliness from the world of so-called reality TV. Still smarting over the notorious "turkey slap" incident on Big Brother in 2006, a new code of practice has been circulating among those who produce such rubbish, so as to avoid further unpleasantness. It seems that what actors can get away with on screen cannot be permitted by "real" participants. The thinking goes that when a member of the great unwashed does something obscene on TV, it is more "impactful", than when an actor is getting paid to do the same thing.