The mucky allegations about a ‘household name’ BBC star – who is said to have paid thousands of pounds to a teenager for sexually explicit pictures – has exposed our obsession with TV presenters. We invite these people into our homes every day. Stars we never meet become familiar, a part of our lives and daily routines. Now, for one of these presenters, their world has come crashing down, and we can’t get enough of it.
There are plenty of questions hanging over this story: we still don’t know the identity of the presenter concerned, even if social media is awash with a list of suspects. And we don’t know whether the allegations are true. But there’s no doubt that we find presenters caught up in scandals fascinating. There is also something deliciously exciting about such stories. It’s futile to pull a shocked face and pretend otherwise.
Perhaps our obsession is because TV presenters are an odd type.
