Keeping attuned to the zeitgeist

Casual acquaintances of mine may be surprised to hear that I have been glancing at episodes of the current series of Big Brother. For those living in the Andaman Islands without electricity I should explain that this is a TV series which lacks the diffident charm of Who Wants to be a Millionaire?, the sharp wit of Gardeners’ Question Time and the intellectual rigour of Fox News.
Those who know me better will realise that this is merely evidence of my constant struggle to keep up with modern pop culture; I have virtually no help with this since even my children are now of an age when they must make a conscious effort to stay with it (a phrase common in the fifties and now used only by pensioners, who rarely are).
But I also have a personal reason for taking an interest in the show. My wife’s nephew is a gentle and engaging character called Robert, a.k.a. Wobbly Bob, a talented artist and musician who is guitarist, singer and co-founder of a band called Daddy Fantastic, and creator of the cartoon character of that name. We are all proud of him.
All clear so far? Right.
Now, the band's lead singer, called Pete, otherwise The Daddy, is one of the fourteen contestants currently doing their thing (and probably each other) in the Big Brother House.
I have not met him, but from what I have seen of him on the screen he is one of the less repellent inmates. This is admittedly not a huge compliment, but anyway we are all rooting for him.
It is said that Pete suffers from Tourette's syndrome, and certainly he does shout abuse quite often. But no more than most of the other inmates and anyway this is only one of the symptoms of this distressing malady.