TONIGHT, Big Brother comes to an end. For many - probably the majority - it will be a blessd relief. For some - and upwards of nine million are expected to watch tonight - it will be the end of a TV addiction.

But for practically everyone it will be the end of a topic of conversation. Even those who have never watched the programme seem to have an opinion about it.

That opinion is usually that the inmates of the Big Brother house are dim-witted and vulgar, and all they do is smoke and drink to excess, and talk about sex in the most offensive manner.

There is some merit to this opinion. The conversation has, at times, been frighteningly low and Jade, as a product of the British education system, shows how much room for improvement there is in our schools. Even watching the weather forecast must be a trial for this poor lass who thinks East Angular is in the North.

Yet, although the snobs among us might not like it, this is the way humans are - particularly young humans who are bored out of their brains after weeks of incarceration with only drink to entertain them.

Be it in the Army or in the pub, there are very few young people who sit around in groups theorising about nuclear physics or debating the presence of the Dark Lady in Shakespeare's sonnets.

So Jonny from Trimdon has little to be ashamed of when he walks out of the Big Brother house this evening. Yes, he is crude, but he is also a genuine lad. He might want to be famous, he might love the limelight, but at least he is honest and not trying to be someone he is not.

And, if the foul language doesn't turn you off, there is something quite warming about the Big Brother inmates. When the drink wears off, they can be caring and sensitive towards each other and, although they are young and brash, they are surprisingly devoted to their mums and dads.

Perhaps the bigger question is not about the language but about whether Channel 4 has exploited these young people. Locking someone as fragile as Jade away with an unlimited supply of booze was a recipe for disaster and, for a while, she was over the edge.

But the way she has fought back and redeemed herself - possibly subconsciously - is the main reason she goes into the last day favourite to win. That, in itself, is quite warming, and says much about the strength of the human spirit.

But she will need to be stronger still to survive her 15 minutes of fame and, more importantly, her subsequent slide into oblivion that will last for the rest of her life.