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06/02/2011

BBC Radio 4 - Celebrity Activists

Greta Scacchi explores celebrity activism: is it good, bad, or perhaps just inevitable?

Do campaigning celebs oversimplify complex problems? Or do they focus attention on important issues? Greta Scacchi explores the world of celebrity activists.

Celebrities loom ever larger in our culture, and their roles as campaigners and lobbyists become more central as they do so. Greta Scacchi, who has herself campaigned on a number of causes, explores the world of celebrity activists. Do they over-simplify complex problems, do they detract from the seriousness of the issue, or do they help focus attention where it is needed?

From full-time celebrity managers at charities to the consultancies helping high profile celebs choose the right charities for them, the business of celebrity activism is often pretty hard-nosed. Greta speaks to political insiders, charity heads and her fellow celebs to paint a picture of how it works, and asks how it can be done better.

She hears from the critics, who believe celebs debase the quality of the debate, compromise where none is needed and divert attention from worthy causes to those which are 'sexy'. And she speaks to others who believe the celebrities they work with perform invaluable work in sometimes difficult conditions.

Producer: Giles Edwards.

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