He thinks the comedians responsible have become multimillionaires by mocking the weakest people in Britain. "Their targets are almost invariably the easiest, cheapest groups to mock: the disabled, poor, elderly, gay or fat."
In particular, Hari is not a fan of Vicky Pollard - the thieving, scrounging single mum who swaps her baby for a Westlife CD. He calls her "a walking, smoking, Richard Littlejohn column, a compendium of every prejudice ever spewed towards single parents".
Hari is unmoved by the defence that the characters are just fun, and viewers laugh with them, not at them. He points to a web site for fans of the programme. He quotes a message he says is typical from a Bristolian talking about Southmead - the deprived estate whose excellent youth club was, by coincidence, showcased in a feature in this magazine but a fortnight ago (YPN, 16-22 November, p16).
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