Channel 5 asks Britain ‘Foxy Knoxy: Would Ya?’

AMID the media frenzy caused by the acquittal of Amanda Knox in Italy last night, the treatment given to the story by Channel 5 on its morning discussion show The Wright Stuff stood out - and certainly caused a stir on Twitter.

Rather than discussing the niceties of the Italian justice system, the impact of the verdict on the family of murdered student Meredith Kercher or even what the future may hold for the freed 24-year-old American, the host and panel ruminated on whether or not they would sleep with her, during a section of the show tactfully entitled: "Foxy Knoxy: Would Ya?"

The publicity blurb explained the reason for the debate. "She's entirely innocent. She's also undeniably fit and loves wild sex. Or did. So if you were a guy who'd met her in a bar and she invited you back to hers, would you go? I'm being quite serious. Or would something in your brain make you think twice?"

Presenter Matthew Wright later explained that he found the nickname Foxy Knoxy "appalling" and wanted to explore the issues around it. He added: "I thought it would be interesting to find out if mud sticks, or whether an innocent young woman could now go out and behave in a perfectly normal way. The real disgrace is the Foxy Knoxy epithet," he told the Metro.

The panel tasked with discussing whether or not Knox could entice them home consisted of gay panto-star Christopher Biggins, interior designer Kelly Hoppen and Liz McClarnon, who found fame as a member of pop group Atomic Kitten.

A Channel 5 spokesman defended their findings, stating they handled the subject matter "extremely sensitively" and claiming that "at no point did we lose sight of the fact that at the heart of the matter is the tragic death of a young girl - Meredith Kercher".

Most people on Twitter were not so sure and the programme was a trending topic from the moment it aired. Novelist Keris Stainton summed up the thoughts of most when she tweeted: "Oh the Wright Stuff thing is shocking. Just terrible. I think they forget they're talking about real people."

However, Times journalist Giles Coren wrote on Twitter: "Really hoping Knoxy gets off tonight. Because soon as she's at large we're all technically in with a shout." Whatever could he mean? ·