When Art Can No Longer Imitate Life

The BBC is reportedly scrapping the absolutely dire 'Grange Hill' because, it is said, it no longer reflects the lives of children in contemporary Br*tain. Yahoo News quotes CBBC controller Anne Gilchrist as saying:

"Part of CBBC's reputation for reflecting contemporary Britain back to UK children has been built upon Phil Redmond's brilliantly realised idea and, of course, it's sad to say goodbye to such a much-loved institution.
"The lives of children have changed a great deal since Grange Hill began and we owe it to our audience to reflect this.
"We're actively seeking out new and exciting ways of bringing social realism to the CBBC audience through drama and other genres."

Whom do they think they are kidding? A plausible drama that accurately reflects the mindless depravity that is everyday life for the feral little bastards churned out by the contemporary state education system could not but provoke a prosecution for obscenity, should it be shown to its intended audience.

The days when 'social realism' could be instructively entertaining are long past.