What would you do to get a 'Best Friend Forever'?

TV producers are amazing. Just when I thought that reality tv couldn't get any more humiliating, they come out with something else that proves me wrong. The latest show I had the misfortune to come across whilst I was channel-hopping was 'Paris Hilton's BFF (Best Friend Forever)'. Yes, it's an old show, probably in its fourth or fifth season for all I know, but it's news to me.

In case anyone reading this is as slow on the uptake as I am, 16 'lucky' contestants battle it out to become Paris Hilton's "new best friend". Note the inverted commas. Paris of course knows what's best, so she tells them how to do their hair, what to wear, who to like and who to ignore. If they're lucky she'll treat them as her pets. If they don't do what she says, they don't trust her enough. Of course, the advice can only go one way because how can they know better than Paris Hilton?

Of course, the behaviour in itself is nothing new, and it seems especially common in the US (at least from watching movies about American college girls and teen flicks - not that bitching and back-stabbing doesn't occur elsewhere). It's sad that they believe it makes them more likeable to Paris, as if she doesn't see right through them (which she does). There's something unbelievably icky about the show to me, and somehow it's more humiliating than even Big Brother. Mixing with a rich, celebrity socialite might be considered an enviable aim to some, and maybe the designer makeovers and clothes and hand-me-downs are rewarding enough. As long as they don't make the mistake of believing she really is their best friend.

I have to say though, this is probably more REAL reality tv than some of the other shows around. I'm sure the borrowed glamour is what many people would like, and what some would take if they got the chance. It's just that I can't stomach watching it.