[Red Moon]

Max Clifford: Big Brother Had To Evict Emily

Big Brother had no choice but to evict Emily Parr for her racist comment as the show lurches from crisis to crisis, according to PR guru Max Clifford.

The PR to the stars also said it was "trial by TV" for Big Brother after Ofcom flexed its muscles and forced the show to apologise for its handling of the Shilpa Shetty race row.

Emily was kicked out after calling fellow housemate Charley 'n***er' on the show.

Mr Clifford said: "I think because of the Ofcom ruling about racial matters and the way that they handled the last one, Big Brother obviously had to clean its act up.

"The fact of the matter is that this is a very crucial time in the history of Big Brother and Ofcom, who are showing what they can do if Channel 4 ignore the warnings.

"There's a fine line between what's acceptable and what's not. I imagine Channel 4 are hoping they will deflect the same kind of response.

"Big Brother is on trial. They are trying to be seen as more responsible and responding to Ofcom. It's trial by TV and trial for the makers of the TV.

"It thrives on controversy, and would it be half as interesting without it? I doubt it. The makers have to try to keep in controversial without being offensive and it's a fine line.

"Over the next few days it will be interesting to what the response is and how many protests they will get from the public.

"From a PR point of view they didn't have any choice. At least they seem to be doing something about it, which they weren't doing before."

Channel 4 announced it would air the comment, despite the fact that it was not broadcast live.

Mr Clifford said that Channel 4 had to show the comment to avoid being criticised for covering up for Emily, and said that although the disgraced housemate would have her 15 minutes of fame, she had blown her chances of winning popular support.

He said: "The whole premise of Big Brother is that you're being watched, so they have to show the comment. It has to be seen to be done because it's the basis of the programme.

"One of the criticisms of the last series was that people were only seeing so much, so they are trying to diffuse that problem. The best way to stop a disaster is to anticipate it.

"I wouldn't think that Emily has got too much of a future in showbusiness at the moment. It probably wouldn't endear her to too many people, but I'm sure she'll have her 15 minutes of fame in the press.

"I don't know the girl personally, but if you go on Big Brother there's no such thing as bad publicity, although I'm not sure how much Jade Goody would agree with that."

However, he said that the publicity the incident had created was good for the show, as long as they managed to avoid being criticised for their handling of the situation.

He said: "They are getting plenty of controversy, which is what keeps people watching, but they are trying to make sure that it doesn't lead to the same problems.

"They're trying to get the best of both worlds, because they thrive on controversy but they need to be seen to be responsible. It's called having your cake and eating it.

"They have got a real problem because the success of the programme is that it is risky and on the edge, or what I call car crash TV, which involves controversy and confrontation.

"That's what they need, but at the moment they've got to be careful now because Ofcom has made it clear they won't tolerate any more."

Source: Life Style Extra