The Dave Pelzer of pop

There's an interesting piece in today's Mirror exploring how Kerry Katona has managed to amass a three million quid fortune despite an expensive drug habit and no visible talent.

She has, in effect, flogged the only thing she has - misery:

"Kerry has enduring appeal because her life has all the key elements that make a great story - love, tragedy and betrayal," says one magazine executive, who has paid Kerry for a string of exclusives.

"Unlike many stars, Kerry is happy to lay bare every facet of her life and admits she is flawed.

Triumph over tragedy sells - and Kerry sells lots."

So, in effect, when her house was broken in to, the raiders were helping her to open up a new revenue stream. And the treatment for "bipolar disorder" at the Priory? That'll be a new gazebo or something right there.

The paper, sadly, never gets round to considering if it's entirely helpful to pay someone with a miserable life in eturn for sharing that misery, and what the psychological effect of knowing that your lifestyle can only be comfortable if you continue suffer is.