Reality TV: Audiences and Popular Factual Television

What is reality tv for? Does it provide viewers with information and education, or are programme makers simply exploiting real people’s lives for our entertainment and in pursuit of ratings? Real TV is an insightful investigation by a leading television studies scholar into the multi-faceted genre of factual entertainment. Annette Hill discusses a wide range of reality shows, from Big Brother and Popstars to The 1940s House and Animal Hospital , drawing on research among reality tv viewers to consider how different audience groups think about factual television, and whether they consider such programmes to be providing entertainment or information.