Katie and Alex - Place Your Bets

As 2010 draws to an end, a final blog for the year. Today we touch on the intellect and moral barometer of today's society. Sometimes it's good to reflect on how far we've come.

Bookmakers William Hill have just released their odds for the upcoming year, on the likelihood of celebrity couples staying together during 2011. Katie Price and someone called Alex Reid are favourites to split up, recently shortening from 5/2 to 7/4.

"Our punters seem quite convinced that Katie and Alex are on the rocky road to ruin - it seems as though the only way that this bet will be a loser is if they don't actually make it to 2011," chirped William Hill spokesman Joe Crilly.

Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel's relationship is also tipped to disintegrate at odds of 5/1; Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher, and Vernon Kay and Tess Daly are at 6/1 each. Strictly Come Dancing winners Kara Tointon and Artem Chigvintsev have been given 8/1, despite it being unclear as to whether they're yet in a relationship at all.

Lewis Hamilton and Nicole Scherzinger are at 10/1 to fold, but mysteriously, also 3/1 to tie the knot. Prince William and Kate Middleton, who apparently are to marry next April, have been given odds to split of 66/1, the same as David and Victoria Beckham.

You may or may not like these people. But don't you find the idea of betting on the longevity of their relationships a pretty tawdry one? What are William Hill thinking of - or are they just fulfilling a (gulp) customer requirement? Finally the conspiracy theory: how many celebrities actually court this sort of attention, or play up to it?

A happy new year to all my readers - see you on the other side.