Who the Heck is Amy?

As I lay here, wrapped in a duvet, sipping Lemsip, aching with every minute movement and assuredly coughing myself to death I am forced to turn to the TV as a distraction from this hellish influenza.

After a few moments of mindless channel surfing I happen across a program called ‘It’s All About Amy’, and with my interest slightly peaked as to just who this Amy is, I set the remote down and watch…

Shock horror does not even begin to describe what I witnessed over the next 30 viewing minutes. My senses were virtually assaulted by this ghastly young woman, whose limited vocabulary and Barbie like presence left me astounded.

The show documented every mind-numbingly dreary aspect of Amy’s daily routine, we watched her go bag shopping, wearing shorts, eating salad and refusing to pick up her pug’s ‘doo doo’ all while she adjusts to her new-found celebrity status. Who in the world thought it prudent to create an eight-part series subjecting viewers to this woman’s every glittery, sparkling and vajazzlingly inglorious lifestyle choices?

With the catchphrase ‘From Towie (The Only Way Is Essex) to high profile business woman’, ‘It’s All About Amy’ exhibits Miss Child’s life since her appearance in Towie. Since then Amy has embarked on a career as a model, TV presenter, columnist and salon owner, which are all to be commended but is this particular path to success the one TV producers should be shamelessly promoting?

The level of ignorance depicted in the program and its’ popularization of the ‘Essex’ vocabulary is mind-boggling. With Amy saying things like, “Driving a car is so different to riding a horse, I think it’s really clever to learn words” and “is Pakistan the capital of India?” We have to wonder why such idiocy is being endorsed and even celebrated. Apparently cluelessness is now widely acceptable and may even be considered a reasonable aspiration among some. Why should they bother with literacy and basic intelligence when neither are required to achieve success?

 Willingly or not Amy Childs and others of her caliber have become role models who the easily influenced youth look to for inspiration. If celebrity status and financial successes are so easily achieved by promoting ignorance, glamour and superficial appearances then why wouldn’t they want to follow suit. These types of ‘reality tv’ shows are becoming all too common, with others like ‘Made in Chelsea’ and ‘Desperate Scousewives’ following similar formats. The title of the latter clearly implies marriage, but are any of these featured women actually wed? Apparently ‘single and desperately seeking men’ means married in ‘reality TV world’. When did it become the norm to advocate big hair, fashion and fake tan over education, monogamy and good old-fashioned hard work?