British television is absolutely marvelous. Take last night for instance. The gripping and affecting Pram-Face documentary on Channel 4 was another example of how television can sometimes tell important stories better than any other medium (it was incidentally the executive production work of our own Mr Steve Hewlett to whom I doff my headgear).
I wish this had provided the "did you see..." moment on television last night. Alas, that honour fell to Love Island - a show which has mesmerised me in a way which induces a certain level of self-loathing. The juxtaposition of these programmes made one instinctively want a massive hike in the rate of personal taxation.
Last night we saw yet another marginal celebrity jet ski in to Love Island. Speculating who it might or might not be, the heroine of the piece, Sophie Anderton, (a woman whose personality it is hard not to admire for all the very worst reasons), declares "It won't be Kate Lawler".
"Why not?", asks Bianca Gascoigne, "don't you like her?".
"It's not that," says Sophie, disingenuously. Then shielding her face, she mouths to Bianca: "It's in my contract." Well, that may be, but this did not stop Kate Lawler ("model and DJ, ex-winner of Big Brother"), rocking up on the beach minutes later.
Then a magic Spinal Tap moment as Bianca says sotto voce to Sophie: "I thought it was in your contract?".
Grim faced Sophie replies: 'It is... you have no idea what is about to happen... ." Cue tears in the fish hut: "I'm f**king pissed off and rightly f**king so."
It would seem from Sophie's exposition that she has four people excluded from appearing with her in her Love Island contract "because it damages my brand... Fashion industry does not mix with celebrities who have come from nowhere with no talent." I'm guessing the others excluded are Nadia, Chantelle and Jade Goody - could be wrong but it all points in that direction.
But this is an interesting industry dilemma. Here is ITV Productions, owned by ITV plc, a talent handling business, blatantly breaking the contract of one of its stars in its major summer show. On screen. It is almost Brechtian in its subtlety. I know Natalka Znak, Love Island exec producer, has been blogging about the show for us. Natalka - where are you? - can you explain this wanton contract breaking?
Personally I am very keen to see Anderton versus ITV plc come to the courts, particularly if we can have transcripts and poor oil pastel renditions on the news.
