It was maybe no surprise that academic and self-confessed anarchist Germaine Greer did not last long in the Celebrity Big Brother house.

I am sure I wasn't the only one surprised to see her take part in the game show which has become synonymous with D-list celebrities trying to revive their careers.

Germaine's life-long career is guaranteed thanks to her many controversial books and lecture tours - she is loved and hated in equal measure but widely respected.

The last thing she needed was to be seen plucking pheasants while dressed as a kitchen maid or wading through a vat of fag ends.

But for reasons best known to herself Germaine decided to show us all she was good for a laugh.

So why after five days did she throw in the Big Brother towel and leave?

Surprisingly it wasn't John McCririck's offensive comments that drove her over the edge - like most sensible women Germaine realised John is a small child who says outrageous things to get attention - ignore him and he loses all his power.

Neither was it the mind-numbing conversations between Kenzie and Caprice that sent our intellect running for the door.

Germaine's reasons were the most sensible, mature and responsible things ever uttered by a BB contestant.

In a press conference Germaine said she was disgusted with the bullying tactics of the show's producers and could no longer be part of something that was treating people so badly.

Of course BB is not meant to be a picnic but I have to agree that this series, branded as 'evil', is in fact nothing short of playground persecution.

First there was John who was refused the gallons of diet cola he claimed he was entitled to.

Whether or not it was in his contract to receive pop is irrelevant, the BB team did not simply refuse to give him what he wanted they then taunted him with it.

All the other contestants were called into the diary room and offered a glass of cola.

John was called in last and offered a glass of tomato juice before being told he could only have this cola if he asked his housemates to give up something belonging to them - obviously to make him look even more petty and selfish than he already did.

For the first time John should admirable qualities when he refused BB's offer and demanded to be let out of the diary room to continue his childish sulking.

OK it's pathetic that a grown man can get is such a state over a drink but I can not see the entertainment in trying to provoke an even more extreme reaction from a man who does a perfectly good job of making himself look ridiculous.

Giving the others the diet cola he craved simply allowed the housemates to gang up on John and made us part of the taunting by pushing him to the edge.

Then there was the arrival of Jackie Stallone. The woman who had made Brigitte Nielsen's life a living hell during her marriage to her son Sly has been put in a confined space with her to continue the torture.

My heart went out to Brigitte when Jackie arrived and I was pleasantly surprised that she did a great job of looking pleased to see her ex-mother- in-law.

Her real reaction of fear, tears and anxiety was saved up for her next visit to the diary room - away from the prying eyes of the woman she was so upset about.

On her release from the house Germaine said that Brigitte had expected to be asked to do all sorts of scary and humiliating things during her appearance on BB.

But, she had never expected to be faced with a demon from her past who had caused her years of misery and could still influence her future.

Again it seems the line between entertainment and cruelty had been crossed - addressing serious personal issues can be done on TV but it shouldn't be dressed up as a game show.

The same thing happened on the last series of I'm A Celebrity - Natalie Appleton and Paul Burrell were both repeatedly forced to do some humiliating and genuinely terrifying things to win food.

The public chose who should do each task public but the producers made sure that we knew each of the contestants' fears before showing us what trial they would have to do.

In that way we could match the person we least liked to the task that would cause them the most discomfort - what's that if not bullying?

It is not entirely the fault of the TV shows - they are tapping into something in all of us that likes to be superior and see the mighty fall - but shouldn't they be responsible in not giving us such an easy outlet for this truly evil trait?

Perversely at the same time as these bullying reality shows, Radio One has launched an anti-bullying campaign to encourage kids to fight back and Coronation Street has tackled the issue with the deeply unpleasant Vince driving Roy to distraction.

But change channels and kids and grown-ups alike are being asked to laugh at a woman scared to death of her mother-in-law and delight in a disturbed girl's inability to walk along a rope bridge.

Bullying is a dark and frightening aspect of human life which we can't ignore - it exists in the work place, in homes and in the playground.

Bullying ruins lives and as such has no place in the world of entertainment where we are all unwittingly encouraged to take part.