If I can throw in my tuppenceworth.
I have never watched Big Brother, or indeed any of the so-called reality shows (is what happens on them reality?) except, by accident, late at night when channel-flicking and have quickly moved on.
My knowledge of Jade Goody is only from newspapers and having seen clips of her on a couple of news progs on TV. She comes across to me as a not very clever person who has lucked out for a reason I don't understand, giving her an importance in her own eyes and those of many others that she does not merit. She is so sorry about the racist accusation that she has given her fee for BB to a children's charity and intends going to India to apologise thus keeping her name to the fore even after she has been chucked out of the BB house. I can picture her arrival in India. "Do you have anything to declare?" "Yes, I'm sorry." "Right. Next!"
When the whole racist thing exploded, my sympathies were entirely with Shilpa, an incredibly beautiful young lady, famous in her own country as a model and film star and being quite unjustly attacked by three British ladettes.
I subsequently read that the main reason for her getting into the BB thing was to get her name known over here and to break into the British film scene. She has certainly achieved the first of these, for the second, only time will tell.
She and Jade have issued a joint statement to the effect that what was said was not racist after all.
The boss of Channel 4 has admitted that without the controversy BB was in danger of becoming boring!
Now, I have no idea what to think – and I really don't care.

Eddie