The headlines recently have been of little other than the sad case of Susan Boyle, one of the contestants in the latest Britain’s Got Talent contest that ended just two weeks ago. Unfortunately for Susan, she was tipped as the winner but, on the night, this was not to be, and the title went to dance group, Diversity.

What followed the finale of Britain’s Got Talent, was Susan’s breakdown, which, unfortunately for her, galvanized the press into a frenzy. She was admitted to the famous Priory Clinic with what her spokesperson described as exhaustion, which may well be all she was actually suffering, despite speculation that she was having a mental breakdown. Let’s not forget that, within weeks, she had turned from a person known only to her friends, family, and colleagues, into someone whose name was reaching the four corners of the globe. The advent of internet technology and world-wide television meant that remaining anonymous, or even ‘local’ to her corner of Britain, was simply not possible; and therein lies the danger of reality TV. The world would do well to heed the warnings.

Susan Boyle is only one victim of the proliferation of TV reality shows. There have been others whose lives have changed, and not for the better, by programs such as Big Brother. We all remember Jade Goody, who died of cancer only this year. Her life was enriched financially, once she had appeared in Big Brother, but most people will remember her for being foul-mouthed to the point of bullying, on a subsequent series of the program. The producers had introduced her to the inhabitants of the house with the sole purpose of pushing up the ratings – and it worked. The end result shamed her, and the nation, with accusations of racism and bullying. Her star began to fade but the outpouring of public goodwill, once it was clear that she wouldn’t survive the cancer, was amazing.

The program makers are at pains to state that they have a backstage team of psychiatrists, doctors and counselors, should they be needed. This, far from fitting in with claims that their programs do not harm, is an acknowledgment that they are aware that such experts may be needed.

The impact of someone’s participation in a TV reality show, despite the producers attempts to make each series more spectacular and ‘ground-breaking’ than the one before, has more to do with that contestant’s personality, than anything else. Some can handle it with confidence and ease; for others, it will turn out to be the very worst chapter of their lives.ge details of her sex life any more than Julia Roberts should have to divulge details of hers.

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