John Phipps

The cruelty of reality TV was part of the appeal

BBC Sounds's ten-part series Unreal: A Critical History of Reality Television fails to understand why we loved these unethical spectacles

There’s no better example of a name made, sullied and ultimately subsumed by reality TV than Jade Goody. Photo: Trinity Mirror / Mirrorpix / Alamy Stock Photo
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  • Unreal: A Critical History of Reality TV

    BBC Sounds

Jade Goody appeared on Big Brother in 2002. She was a short, loud, blonde-haired woman who broadcast her every thought and feeling, either in her thick Cockney accent or with her unforgettable face. She became a star. In 2007 she appeared on Celebrity Big Brother, where she made racist comments about her fellow contestant, the Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty.

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