IN the drive to attract television viewers, there will always be a need for creativity which pushes the boundaries.
Little Britain has certainly pushed those boundaries and become enormously successful as a result, with an array of brilliant characters which have become cult figures.
But in striving to shock, there are also elements of Little Britain which go too far, such as a new female character who is shown urinating over the floor of a supermarket while customers are forced to avoid an expanding puddle.
The Royal College of Physicians has felt the need to criticise the sketch for undermining its campaign to tackle the stigma surrounding incontinence. While we appreciate the BBC's view that the character is so wildly exaggerated it should not be taken so seriously, we simply take the view that it isn't funny.
Meanwhile, in real life, we have Carol Thatcher, daughter of Prime Minister Maggie, being filmed urinating in the jungle in another show attracting huge television audiences.
We cannot deny the success of I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here! any more than the popularity of Little Britain can be disputed. The viewing figures prove that millions of people find it hugely entertaining.
But whether it is a fictional character urinating in the supermarket, or a real-life Prime Minister's daughter urinating in the jungle, we cannot help wondering if television standards are going down the toilet.
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