Using celebs to highlight social crises risks being both patronising and pointless. As the number of people sleeping on the streets in the UK soars,did the BBC fall into that trap? Call me cynical but what can us doing this change?” asked Nick Hancock at the start of Famous, Rich and Homeless, or pre-empting the question in every viewer’s intellect. Whether four celebrities (Hancock,Julia Bradbury, Willie Thorne, and Kim Woodburn) “swapping fame and fortune for a life on the streets” in aid of Sport Relief will carry out anything for Britains homelessness crisis aside,final night’s opening episode of the BBC two-parter was shockingly effective. This specific corner of reality TV – let’s call it Celebrities Raising Awareness Programming (Crap) – always risks being a blend of both patronising and entirely pointless. Almost 15 years on, I still accept night sweats over Celebrity Blind Man’s Buff (in which Gail Porter crossed a busy road blindfolded) and Celebrity Wheelchair Challenge (in which Gaby Roslin crossed the country with her legs strapped together). Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com