Iraqi show plants ‘bombs’ on celebs at checkpoints

Much in the vein of MTV's Punk’d - or for older readers, Beadle's About - an Iraqi TV show has been setting up a string of TV stars and secretly filming their indignation as they try to talk their way out of an embarrassing situation.

Jeremy Beadle, of course, wasn't working in a country occupied by the US and ravaged by violence. If he had been, perhaps he would have come up with the same twist as the producers of Put Him in Bucca: wouldn't it be hilarious if we planted fake bombs in our victims' cars at checkpoints?

Throughout the month of Ramadan, and in the face of protest from the country's newspaper columnists, the show has been airing its series of pranks doing exactly that.

Actors and actresses were lured to a checkpoint policed by Iraqi soldiers by an invitation to visit TV studios. At the (genuine) checkpoint, pretend bombs were planted in their cars – and these were discovered by fake guards, who then railed angrily at the gobsmacked celebs.

According to the New York Times's Yasir Ghazi, it's not clear to what extend the celebs were in on the gag – or whether they were really in fear for their security.

One victim, accused of being a member of al Qaeda, said in front of the hidden cameras: "I am a family man. I have two kids. How could I do this to my family? I am telling you the truth, it's not me who planted the bomb."

The show's title refers to Camp Bucca – a huge jail built by the British and taken over by US troops, to where Abu Ghraib prisoners were transferred after it emerged they had suffered abuse at the hands of their captors.

Whether or not the victims of Put Him in Bucca really thought they might end up there, the show has fascinated - and appalled - Iraqis. ·