Are these two still on TV?

The major outcry this week has been over yet another premium-rate phone swindle, courtesy of Channel 4.








Not content with taking mug Big Brother viewers for a ride, Richard & Judy have apparently been in on the act as well.
Actually, before I get sued for libel, they claim that they haven't been in on the act at all. Instead they've apparently just been pawns in an evil Channel 4 chess analogy and even then, given that the investigation was undertaken by the Mail on Sunday, the claims are most likely just complete bollocks anyway.

But the more pressing question isn't just about a few half-wits trying to phone a £1-a-minute phone line believing that they can overcome monumental odds and get through to the big money, the more pressing matter at hand is the ask why Richard & Judy are still on TV in the first place?

Richard & Judy were the personification of traditional family values. They were seen as everything that was right with Britain. A TV couple that are rarely seen away from each other, ever since they presented 'This Morning' for what seemed like 200 years, along with that weatherman who got his kicks by jumping between some floating islands in Albert Docks.

But despite the fact that their fame is more to do with their image than any actual television ability, they've been on TV long enough to get into trouble before.

In 1994 'This Morning' producer Granada hit with a hefty fine for product placement, after the pair plugged a host of major brands. Come 1999, they'd still not learnt their lesson after viewers complained at heavy plugging on 'The Lion King 2' and viewers complained again in 2003 as the couple tried to peddle their book. In 2005, Ofcom issued another fine for yet another product placement offence.
Channel 4 themselves are, of course, no stranger to misleading viewers into phoning premium rate call centres, so I won't go on any more about them.

But regardless of what, if anything, have gone on with the Richard & Judy show, they're a tired brand. The 'You Say,We Pay' contest is yet another Channel 4 game show which pays out thousands of pounds for absolutely zero skill. If you've seen Ross Noble's 'Randomist' you'll know exactly what I mean (and it's a great DVD, I think you should see it).

For Richard & Judy to step away from C4 now would probably be construed as an admission of guilt, but they're well past their sell-by date and should step-back sooner rather than later.