HOECS Games

It’s called a HOECS game – a Hidden Online Entrapment Control System.

To put it mildly, this one was a tricky one to tackle, wasn’t it? I still struggle to comprehend how it actually made it on telly. I mean…I get it. The whole point was taking the piss out of media hysteria around the subject and you could tell immediately that people would jump to conclusions about it. And thus the prophecy came true. Uproar was encountered. You had MPs condemning the programme without even having watched it. And yet, you had Phil Collins banging on about ‘Nonce Sense’ and Richard Blackwood claiming that kids who play HOECS games smell like hammers. The hypocrisy of the gullible. A joy to watch.

Anyway, HOECS games were lambasted by Gary Lineker, Philippa Forrester and Nick Owen. Amongst others. One of them featured a dog – Pantu – who supposedly acted as a portal so that an abuser could feel a child through a computer screen. Really. Yes, ‘hoax’ games. Come on now.

I also used to work with Dr Fox, so the whole crab bit is a personal favourite.