DANVILLE, Va. — A star of the TV show "Moonshiners" has been arrested for public intoxication. Police in Danville announced Tuesday they had arrested Steven Ray Tickle – known on the show as "Tickle" – at a convenience store on Thursday.
Police say they received a report of a man sitting in the parking lot of Charley's Stop and Shop drinking, and they saw Tickle with an open container and smelling of alcohol.
The 35-year-old Tickle was released from the Danville City Jail later that day. It was not immediately clear if he had an attorney. A spokesman for Discovery Channel, which airs the show, didn't immediately return a call seeking comment.
"Moonshiners" follows people making the illegal brew. The show's website describes Tickle as "a hard working still hand who loves moonshine."
Poster Comment:
I believe Tickle has been just about past going in every episode of Moonshiners that I saw. And no, I don't believe they are making any real moonshine on the show. Tim Smith, the guy Tickle worked with, reveals a lot about his identity on the show, including the fact that he is Chief of the Climax Volunteer Fire Department.
Virginia Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control has made a statement to the Associated Press that states that a crime is not taking place on the show because it is a dramatization, and no illegal liquor is being produced.
“If illegal activity was actually taking place, the Virginia ABC Bureau of Law Enforcement would have taken action.”
So Moonshiners is just another unreal "reality" show. Not that it isn't entertaining at times but anyone with more than two brain cells knows you don't make moonshine on national television and let everyone see who you are.