Strictly Come Dancing keeps performers in work. Top composers use shows like How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria? to cast West End productions. And The Play’s The Thing tried to foster new stage voices. But are these pop-culture projects a blessing or blight to the UK arts scene?
Reality TV is often dismissed as half-baked social experiment, or lowbrow entertainment. It is constructed, self-conscious, and rarely convincingly “real”. But there is no denying its popularity or influence.