James
18-12-2003, 01:26 PM
Big Brother 'educational', claims contestant
Polly Curtis
Thursday December 18, 2003
Big Brother's Jon Tickle has hit back at academics who, in a poll to find out which TV show was most responsible for dumbing down British culture, voted the reality TV show the worst.
Big Brother topped the poll with 219 out of a total of nearly 1700 votes followed by Pop Idol. However, in a list dominated by reality TV shows such as Temptation Island and lifestyle gurus such as What Not to Wear's Trinny and Susannah, BBC news got more votes that The Osbournes and The Weakest Link.
Physics graduate Jon Tickle, who was labeled Britain's most boring man after his stint on Big Brother, said: "I don't think people who sit in ivory towers really understand what mainstream British culture is about nowadays - they don't come into contact with ordinary people.
"Here is a show that demonstrates the different facets of British culture, where you get a real sense of what makes people tick, where everything is stripped bare. I think academics should watch Big Brother - it would be an education for them."
Academics who voted for Big Brother in the Times Higher Education Supplement's poll included Baroness Susan Greenfield, the director of the Royal Institution, June Purvis, a professor of women's and gender history at Portsmouth University, and Roger Scruton, the honorary professor of philosophy at Buckingham University.
The BBC news scored 34 votes - as did EastEnders and The Osbournes. The award-winning programme Wife Swap got 82 votes.
The votes
Big Brother 219 votes
Pop Idol 109 votes
Jerry Springer Show 108 votes
Temptation Island 90 votes
Club Reps 89 votes
Wife Swap 82 votes
The Salon 67 votes
National Lottery Show 59 votes
Kilroy 57 votes
Home/garden improvement programmes 38 votes
Airport 36 votes
You've Been Framed 36 votes
BBC News 34 votes
EastEnders 34 votes
The Osbournes 34 votes
UK's Worst Driver 31 votes
What Not to Wear 30 votes
So Graham Norton 29 votes
Sex and the City 27 votes
The Weakest Link 24 votes
Life Laundry 22 votes
Richard and Judy Show 21 votes
From http://education.guardian.co.uk/higher/artsandhumanities/story/0,12241,1109562,00.html
Polly Curtis
Thursday December 18, 2003
Big Brother's Jon Tickle has hit back at academics who, in a poll to find out which TV show was most responsible for dumbing down British culture, voted the reality TV show the worst.
Big Brother topped the poll with 219 out of a total of nearly 1700 votes followed by Pop Idol. However, in a list dominated by reality TV shows such as Temptation Island and lifestyle gurus such as What Not to Wear's Trinny and Susannah, BBC news got more votes that The Osbournes and The Weakest Link.
Physics graduate Jon Tickle, who was labeled Britain's most boring man after his stint on Big Brother, said: "I don't think people who sit in ivory towers really understand what mainstream British culture is about nowadays - they don't come into contact with ordinary people.
"Here is a show that demonstrates the different facets of British culture, where you get a real sense of what makes people tick, where everything is stripped bare. I think academics should watch Big Brother - it would be an education for them."
Academics who voted for Big Brother in the Times Higher Education Supplement's poll included Baroness Susan Greenfield, the director of the Royal Institution, June Purvis, a professor of women's and gender history at Portsmouth University, and Roger Scruton, the honorary professor of philosophy at Buckingham University.
The BBC news scored 34 votes - as did EastEnders and The Osbournes. The award-winning programme Wife Swap got 82 votes.
The votes
Big Brother 219 votes
Pop Idol 109 votes
Jerry Springer Show 108 votes
Temptation Island 90 votes
Club Reps 89 votes
Wife Swap 82 votes
The Salon 67 votes
National Lottery Show 59 votes
Kilroy 57 votes
Home/garden improvement programmes 38 votes
Airport 36 votes
You've Been Framed 36 votes
BBC News 34 votes
EastEnders 34 votes
The Osbournes 34 votes
UK's Worst Driver 31 votes
What Not to Wear 30 votes
So Graham Norton 29 votes
Sex and the City 27 votes
The Weakest Link 24 votes
Life Laundry 22 votes
Richard and Judy Show 21 votes
From http://education.guardian.co.uk/higher/artsandhumanities/story/0,12241,1109562,00.html