Letter: Shame on Channel 4 for plumbing depths

I really thought I'd heard it all until I read about a morning C4 programme presently in the making where there'll basically be a contest where women select a man to father a child for them from amongst several candidates, which they'll then co-parent. Although they're open to the prospect of a romance developing, the main objective is to find a man to supply his 'swimmers', then they can raise their child together, regardless of whether any relationship ensues.

I totally understand that women get very upset when they can't find the right man and the clock is ticking, it's getting closer to the 'Big M' and the eggs are getting so old that you can literally smell the sulphur! That's unless they've frozen their eggs already or if the eggs of a younger model are to be used in any such proceedings.

The longing for a child in so many women is, I fully acknowledge, deep-seated, almost primal in its intensity, uncontrollable and unrelenting. In the absence of a partner and if they feel they can offer a child a good home and aren't doing it for selfish reasons, it is fair enough to resort to a sperm donor.

Of course, there are a lot of men who would love to be a dad but can't find the right woman, and it's also fair enough that they can consider a lady to become a surrogate. However, when it is all turned into a public circus, like an X Factor game with more and more daddies being 'voted out' until the 'right one' is selected, then that is when the human race can be witnessed in one of its lowest forms and when it becomes in very bad taste.

The poor children that eventuate from this dubious process would, fundamentally, come into being in the midst of a very bizarre experiment. He or she will grow up in the knowledge that his/her dad was someone who'd won 'The Sperm Factor' (or should I say 'The XY Factor?) or 'Strictly Come Play Daddy'!

I'm sure I can't be alone in finding the whole thing flesh-creeping and stomach-turning.

I have enjoyed many programmes on Channel 4, but there are some that really plumb the depths, and this is one of them. Shame on them!