Adapted by Netherlands production company Endemol from its already notorious Dutch hit, Big Brother was a grand social experiment repurposed for prime time.
And, when Celebrity Big Brother came along in 2001 (Jack Dee the first winner), the vaguely famous jumped at the opportunity to humiliate themselves too.
If The Office made us glance away in embarrassment, David Mitchell and Robert Webb’s two-hander had audiences doubled over wincing.
Clarkson and co-presenters Richard Hammond and James May left under a cloud when Clarkson lamped one of his crew in 2015.