The TV Personality, The Prostitute And The Lorry Drivers

The recent furore over the prank calls made by Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross to the Granddaughter of Andrew Sachs should have been warning enough to TV personalities. Well not for Jeremy Clarkson. At a time when public indignation seems to be in vogue, Jezza decided to make out that an entire profession were homicidal against sex workers.

Read the story here.

I can see how this might have seemed funny in the pub/script meeting, but leaving aside any bad taste, it isn’t funny. It’s not a good line. Now consider the implications for lorry drivers and the casual way in which the murder of a human being is used in an attempt at humour and you have a real stinking car crash of a TV moment.

I don’t have a problem with Jeremy on the whole, he’s forthright and refreshing because of it. But surely someone must have said “Are you sure we should use that line?”