A nine-year-old girl is one of the "stars" of a TV game show in which she humiliates grown-ups by biting, kicking and hitting them.

Today a children's charity condemned the BBC show for exploiting the Laindon youngster - as her mum defended the decision to let her appear on it.

Little devil - Georgia-Rose tortures contestants on the TV show Picture: MAXINE CLARKE

Georgia-Rose Clarke's mother believes that hitting one contestant over the head with a toffee hammer and biting another has not affected her daughter as she still knows she cannot humiliate adults in real life - only on TV.

A spokeswoman for Kidscape, a charity committed to keeping children safe from abuse, said: "That is an absolutely stupid thing to do with a child.

"A nine-year-old can't give her informed consent, so it is adults telling this girl to go on the show and do something nasty. This is just reality TV taken one step too far."

In the late-night show, called Resistance which goes out after midnight, Georgia-Rose, of Princes Close, Laindon and who goes to Janet Duke Junior School, hurts contestants who agree to be humiliated in return for cash.

Georgia-Rose's mum, Kelly, who works at Basildon Hospital, said: "I sat Georgia-Rose down before the show and told her she could not do the same things at home, but she knew that already."

A spokesperson for the BBC said: "We strongly contest any claims that the programme is inappropriate in its inclusion of child actors and have received no complaints. The child actor was employed through an acting agency and consent was given by both mother and daughter. Her mother attended all filming."

Published Tuesday, June 10, 2003

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