It’s the 21st century gladiatorial arena: How reality TV has changed our world

As ‘Celebrity Big Brother’ returns to our screens, Suzanne Harrington examines how reality TV has gone full circle, from cosy ‘Bake Off’ to ruthless ‘Traitors’

Celebrity Big Brother returned this week, and it’s a long way from the innocent days of Nasty Nick on the first Big Brother in 2000

A man stands on the coastal cliffs of southern England, looks out to sea, and likens the people risking their lives by crossing the channel in dinghies to an invasion of rats. A woman says that in 10 years time, everyone in the UK will be wearing burqas. 

This is not an outdoor meeting of far right extremists, but one of Channel 4’s most recent reality TV shows, snappily titled Go Back to Where You Came From.