I’m going to go out on a limb here and admit that I love to hate reality TV, but do tend to get a little hooked.

And I don’t think I’m the only one ... my guess is that the voyeuristic urge to watch someone else go about their everyday life has kept each and every person reading this column glued to the set at one point or another.

My excuse is that I’m a nosey journalist. What’s yours??

I used to enjoy believing I was above the nightly call of Big Brother, but that all changed when I moved in with my affianced and his mate.

It was a cold little apartment in Bondi, and it was the middle of winter. The only heater was in the TV room and, because it was two versus one, I practically always got relegated to the reserve-grade seating (the TV in the bedroom where there was no heating and the wind blew through the gaps in the windows).

So, I would sit in the cosy lounge room and try to read my book while the boys watched Big Brother. Needless to say I became hooked on the “reality” of it all.

That’s the most pathetic part of it all, Australian reality TV shows really are “real” - and we watch them! I wouldn’t hangout with half the losers on the show, but I would happily sit down and eat my bangers and mash in front of them!

These days I like to think I’ve evolved somewhat. I no longer watch Big Brother. Instead I have become addicted to an American reality show called Bridezillas. It’s a fabulous train-wreck of a show following the wedding-countdown for women who have absolutely no control over their emotions when it comes to weddings. I am HOOKED. Last weekend I tried to have it on in the background while I was cleaning. The floor is still waiting to be mopped.

I don’t know if reality TV is “real”. I think it comes down to the perspective of the individual viewer. Watch it for entertainment, not as an example of how to live your life!

With SAM GROVES

This is a simple one - they’re as real as you want them to be.

Reality shows are like accident scenes. It’s an horrific sight but for some there’s an inexplicable burning desire to just keep watching. And there have been some pretty bad accidents on the tube over the past five years.