Pertinent to the meaning of reality television is the understanding that it focuses on real life. There are no actors, no scripts and no staged events to provoke drama; the camera simply captures life as it happens, and we become ‘peeping toms’ for the duration of the programme.

William Kostakis is alert to this illusion. He expressed his disdain for reality television in an article in the Age on the eve of the Big Brother finale in July. For Kostakis, reality television is mundane, full of wannabes who become famous – albeit for fifteen minutes –for doing nothing but engaging in mindless banter. The people are not real, but rather caricatures that are moulded through sophisticated editing and styling for pure spectacle and entertainment.