How F*cked up are TV Writers?

[BoSoxGal]

I think that's where reality TV comes in, no? Audiences delighting in the mishaps of others.

[loCAtek]

Yuk, it's worse than that, those are vanity parades of who can be the most shallow, stuck-up, sex-dolls. ...of course, there is a market for that sort of thing.

A friend of mine went to the club and met one of the cast 'Jersey Shore'. He says that's what these 'actors' do for a living; they get paid to show up at clubs ...and that's it, that's all the talent they possess.

[Gob]

Well having seen brief (1-2 seconds) clips of "Jersey Shore" and "I'm a celeb-tard make fun of me", I can certainly understand why the great unwashed take delight in watching oafs display their oafishness.

[Gob]

here you go Dave, from that famous den of iniquity....

Shula Hebden Lloyd, née Archer, previously Hebden (Judy Bennett) is the elder daughter of Phil and Jill and twin sister of Kenton. Her first husband, Mark Hebden, a solicitor, was killed in a road accident in 1994 that also involved her best friend Caroline Bone (now Sterling). Shula and Mark's son Daniel was born after the death of his father as a result of IVF treatment after a long struggle with infertility. Some years after Mark's death, Shula had an affair with the village doctor (who was himself living with Shula's hitherto good friend Usha Gupta), thus two-timing her boyfriend Alistair (the local vet) whom she subsequently married. This was in the context of Shula's devout Christianity and membership of the local Parish Council. She owns and runs the riding stables which formerly belonged to Christine Barford, her aunt. She used to have great fun with her best friend, Caroline, but recently Caroline has become engrossed in her husband Oliver Sterling and their business activities. Since her marriage to Alistair, Shula has lost her lightheartedness and become rather dour, self-centred and even, at times, sanctimonious, as evidenced by her attitude to the marriage of the vicar, to whom Shula had been 'right-hand woman' for the parish, to Usha Gupta, a Hindu. Coping with the childhood arthritis of her son, Daniel, has not helped, and nor has her husband's gambling addiction, which nearly destroyed their marriage before he finally admitted to owing huge sums to Matt Crawford and others. The couple resolved to stay together; they remortgaged the business to pay off the debts and Alistair started attending Gamblers Anonymous meetings.

Ed Grundy (Barry Farrimond) is the younger son of Eddie and Clarrie. Ed took up his father's interest in music and aspired to be in a band. A farm labourer, Ed secured a job in France and planned to move there secretly with Emma and George, but they were thwarted in November 2005 by Will. In May 2006, Ed mysteriously vanished after Emma left the caravan and moved into her parents' home, saying it was for the sake of her baby's health. He remained missing, despite a police investigation into his disappearance, until July 2006 when he was admitted to hospital after being beaten up while sleeping rough in Borchester. Whilst living as a vagrant, he had become addicted to alcohol and crack cocaine. Ed had a history of drug use and petty crime including joyriding. On returning to the village, Ed at first sought refuge with mentor and past employer, Oliver Sterling, who did his best to help him face his demons and abandon his vices. With the additional help of family support and counselling Ed has made major steps towards recovery, demonstrated by his increased dedication to Oliver Sterling's dairy farm. Ed now lives with Emma and George at Brookfield in the holiday cottage. In April 2011 they welcomed a new daughter, Keira Susan.

Adam Macy (Andrew Wincott) is the first child of Jennifer Aldridge, his presumed father being former Brookfield farmhand Paddy Redmond. Adam was adopted by Roger Travers-Macy, Jennifer's first husband. Adam lived abroad for many years, mainly in Kenya, helping breed goats, but came back to the family farm when a major relationship broke up. After a year or so, he fell in love with Ian Craig, the chef at Grey Gables. Ian and Adam's liaison has elicited little moral outrage or criticism in the village, with the exception of Sid Perks, who briefly barred Adam from the Bull, now the village's only pub, and Adam's grandmother Peggy Woolley, who was distinctly uncomfortable with the relationship. Adam and Ian considered embarking on parenthood; Ian had plans to artificially inseminate his old friend, Madds, and share responsibility for the child they hoped to produce, but Madds then fell in love with another man and changed her mind. The producers of The Archers maintain this was a very popular plot nationwide, although posts on the BBC's Archers message boards were mainly negative. Ian proposed to Adam and the pair entered a civil partnership on 14 December 2006.

Kate Madikane, née Aldridge (Kellie Bright, formerly played by Susie Riddell), is the eldest daughter of Brian and Jennifer. Kate inherited her mother's hippy tendency, giving birth to a daughter, Phoebe, at the Glastonbury Festival, by Roy Tucker, (with whom Phoebe lives in Ambridge), before disappearing to Johannesburg, South Africa where she has married Lucas Madikane (Connie M'Gadzah) and has another daughter, Noluthando ("Nolly") and, born July 2007, a son, Sipho (Xhosa for 'gift'). She plans to take up a course at Felpersham University in the autumn of 2010, returning to live in Ambridge during this period; this has caused concern for Roy and Hayley who are worried about the potential unsettling effect on Phoebe

[Sean]

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