It's just a TV show

Given the extraordinary fuss created when the BBC replaced Arlene Phillips with former winner Alesha Dixon on Strictly Come Dancing, it was inevitable that the knives were going to be out for Dixon after her first appearances.

And boy, aren't they?

Dixon has been attacked in the most vicious way - called 'vacuous' and 'clueless' on the Sunday Mirror front page, 'rubbish' in the Mail - as if people are thinking she's some murderer rather than just a JUDGE ON A DANCING PROGRAMME.

There seems to be a new sport of character-assassinating Dixon and it's not a nice one to watch. If you don't like her, don't watch the show. Otherwise, leave her alone.

Unsurprisingly, Amanda Platell uses her column to stick the knife in too, although when she criticises someone else for making

asinine comments

and

even starting to rival the legendary ignorance of Jade Goody

you can't help but see the irony.

But then Platell comes up with a very curious phrase:

we want a critical, intelligent, well-informed assessment of the performances, not the judging equivalent of being licked by a chocolate labrador.

Now maybe the use of 'chocolate labrador' is innocent and just incredibly clumsy - knowing what a useless writer Platell is makes that possible.

But given that Dixon is black, it seems an very odd choice of words.

Would the point Platell was making have been any less clear without the word 'chocolate'? No. So why include it?