[Shaun]

Quite topical for TiBB I should think. (and yes it's probably been done before, blah blah blah)

But should producers be held accountable for the emotional, psychological and reputational (if that's even a legitimate field that can be assessed) damage done to the contestants/housemates (whatever you want to call them) - or should they know what they're letting themselves in for?

We've seen numerous lives 'ruined' by Big Brother - Nadia Almada being the latest example, Jade Goody being the most famous one. But were they genuinely 'bad' (I mean aggressive, abhorrent and nasty, rather than other criticisms such as lazy, vacuous or stupid ) people, or normal people exploited, under extreme conditions (let's not forget what they actually go through: weeks, months, of being locked in a house with strangers, unaware of the outside world, and subject to humiliating tasks in order to earn one's basic needs)?