The definition of car crash TV must be Ladette To Lady – something that’s absolute torture to watch, yet once you start watching it you can’t flick away to another channel.

Tonight was the first episode of the third series, and the voiceover lady announced the ladettes as the most lairy bunch to date. Practically beyond help.

And by God they were. Possibly the scariest creatures I’ve had the misfortune to see. Last years’ crowd seemed positively Princess Di by comparison. Think the sluttiest Big Brother contestant you’ve ever seen and multiply by 15.

However, I couldn’t help wondering about the way the show is constructed. Both in the selection of candidates and in the way they’re ‘coached’ by the frightening panel of experts.

First: the contestants are shocking. We’ve seen shows like Booze Britain that show how binge drinking is eroding society. On the face of it, you’ve got some very common lasses grouped together and mentored by three older women who they can’t possibly relate to on either an age or class level.

It looks like the producers have trawled Britain’s sink estates for the worst examples of ladette culture, and are putting them up against these women who clearly look down on them from the start. Is it a class thing? Or is it an age thing?

Second: the training method are appalling. You’ve got a band of rebellious girls together, looking for opportunities to clash with authority. They can’t relate to these upper-middle class, older women.

And the mentors use nothing but criticism. They line the girls up and give them a rundown of how they let themselves down. But there doesn’t seem to be any positive reinforcement – “Nicole, we noticed you did very well in [name of task] this week. Good work. Next week, we want you to work on your [give contestant a goal for next week]. Congratulations, we’re very proud of you.”

Plus, it must be humiliating for them to have their failures read out in front of each other. Pardon the pop psychology, but that no doubt widens the chasm between the girls and their mentors and probably makes it more important that they misbehave together. Wouldn’t it make more sense to take each one aside and give them individual guidance? It would build better relations between the ladettes and mentors.

But that obviously would have dire consequences for the show.

Ladette To Lady works because of that disconnect between the girls and their mentors. It’s also classic reality TV in that it takes these girls out of their comfort zone and forces them to adopt a different lifestyle. The magic happens when you’re watching them struggle to adapt.

I guess I’m just feeling guilty because I like it so much! Must try not to judge though! What about you folks? Is it a guilty pleasure for you too?