[Feefs]

I don't think anyone has posted these, but I've spotted a couple of nasty digs in the press.

In the Bitches section of Friday's Star Helen was spotted running 'like a muppet' carrying shopping bags to get into a taxi. Hardly a disastrous story, and the title of the column requires a dig. Personally I was unaware that Muppets were able to either carry shopping bags or run, so I'm impressed. Even though it was meant to be nasty, the image had me laughing.

The other 'story' was from today's Sunday People. It said that viewing figures for smtv have dropped by 25% since Ant and Dec left. They claim that 'people' (or similar) believe this is all Brian's fault. It seems kids think he's a 'plonker'. Of course I'd argue that Ant and Dec were exremely popular and we all expected viewing figures to drop, possibly by more than that. Being slightly older I wouldn't dream to assume what kids think, but even if we were to assume that they really did think Brian is a 'plonker', they probably thought the same of Ant and Dec. A substantial part of their appeal lay in their unwillingness to act cool. Any too cool for Brian's daftness would surely have been too cool for the Geordie duo! That's enough logic from me, because I can only assume it had nothing to do with the people writing the article.

Certain journalists have no doubt been desparate for an opportunity to undermine him for some time. It's remarkable it's taken this long. I'm wary to say it's masked homophobia, although it has crossed my mind. All the straight people in the house have been the victim of unecessary jibes, so I don't want to jump to conclusions just yet.

I can't imagine many people would notice the story anyway. It's buried in the middle and lost amongst tawdry tales about Jamie Theakston. Something for Brian to look forward to should he have similar success.