Strictly Come Dancing: Sod's Law

"When Len Goodman called fellow hoofing judge Craig Revel Horwood "a silly little sod", he used a word that has made the reverse journey from dark to light. In its probably 19th-century origins, the insult imputed sodomy until, along with "bugger", becoming a mild and even semi-affectionate rebuke. In online discussions some objecting viewers suspected an anti-camp or homophobic subtext in the TV exchange. I doubt that Goodman intended this, but such judgments are subtle; if he had called the professedly bisexual Revel Horwood a "silly bugger", he would almost certainly have his next few Saturday evenings free because that word retains more of its pejorative power..."

The great Mark Lawson writing in The Guardian on the Strictly Come Dancing Sod debate, and on the acceptability of swearing.
Fagburn has to confess this one completely passed me by - but here's the Daily Mail's outraged account;
'Strictly Out Of Order: Swearing Len Goodman prompts 600 complaints - Judge's 'silly sod' comment attracts hundreds of complaints'
Some people just like complaining, don't they?
Maybe in the future the word "gay" will also drift free of its homosexual meaning and become "a mild and even semi-affectionate rebuke"?
Just like "cunt" has.