The Video

You can watch a clip of the much talked about incident here. I don't know how long it will stay online.

Is BB destroying lives for its own benefit?

From the footage I have seen, it seems pretty clear to me that although Camilla did not explicitly say so, she was consentful to the whole event. Although John held her down, he did not do so with force and all housemates involved understood that there was not the slightest air of malice in the 'practical joke'. At no point does she seem to have lost trust in her friends. Even in her own words, when Camilla told John and Ash to stop, they stopped. She was given the chance from big brother to make a complaint but she refused because she did not think it was a serious issue.

I'm not defending the actions of John and Ash, what they did was obscene. I do however feel that the way the BB producers handled the incident should be put under scutiny.

It was the Big Brother producers themselves that decided, without consultation with the victim, to remove the two boys from the house. The producers must surely have been aware that dismissing two housemates from the house for the first time in the show's history (apart from Warrick Capper) would generate huge scrutiny over what caused the immediate eviction.

The Police were given the opportunity to investigate the incident but found there was no evidence to suggest a sexual assault even though there is substantial footage documenting the event.

However, the extreme media focus on John and Ash that their surprise eviction brought, will mean that they will have to live the rest of their lives infamously for having been involved in alleged "sexual misconduct" on a TV show broadcast nationally.

Imagine what its going to be like for them from now on, trying to get a job, promotions or scholarships, making new friends or reestablishing trust with old friends. It will be extremely hard for them and I think its quite unfair. They will be forever tagged with this incident, even though at the end of the day, they had consent from Camilla. Their lives could be ruined.

The details of the event should have been dealt with behind close doors and should never have been brought to the public's attention. The producers of the show know perfectly well what effect the housemates exposure to the public already has on the contestants' lives once they return to the outside world.

If they truly considered the incident was as serious as they have made it out to be, they would have made the resolution of the issue their complete priority and temporarily ceased production of the show. It seems to me that their creative advisors were being consulted more heavily then their legal advisors and even less thought was given to the reputations of two men under question.

You have to seriously question whether they have used the event as a publicity stunt to bolster their ratings. If so, what they have done is far more morally corrupt then the actions of Ashley and John.