Even those who took voyeuristic delight in Britney’s cataclysmic fall from grace (not to mention sobriety and sanity) feel a little uncomfortable at her persistent efforts to prove her place in the trailer park.

Because what the public really wants after her spectacular display of panty-less self-destruction is a glorious comeback. Ah yes, for in Hollywood, a Comeback is the sequel to the American Dream. Only a few fall so far (yes, OJ, we’re looking at you), that they are forever relegated to the halls of has-been infamy or obscurity.

So, is there hope for Britney? Well, if history is anything to go by, probably. We look back at some of the most glorious comebacks in recent history.

Serial comebackers

A special class of celebrity, the serial comebacker is able to reinvent themselves and overcome adversity time and time again. John Travolta is the classic comebacker - from a smooth, leather-clad singing/dancing sensation in ‘Grease’ to a slick middle-aged bad guy in ‘Pulp Fiction’. And as if this were not enough, he has comeback again, this time as a fat lady in the musical ‘Hairspray’. Ah, the circle of life…

The real dancing queen is, of course, comeback kid Kylie. Written off after earlier hits like ‘I Should be so Lucky’, as a one-hit-wonder, the ‘Neighbours’ star came back with a vengeance to become one of the most bankable singers in the world. After a 10-year hiatus, Kylie became so popular that ‘Can’t Get You Out of My Head’ could very well have been her comeback theme song. Diagnosed with breast cancer in 2005, Kylie fought back and came back…again.

Breakdowns and comebacks

Eccentric public behaviour is always a good indicator that a star is about to crash. In 2001, following the overwhelming failure of the cinematic masterpiece ‘Glitter’, Mariah Carey was treated for ‘extreme exhaustion’ - otherwise known as a nervous breakdown, or in the case of Lindsay Lohan, a massive hangover.

But just when the world thought they had seen the last of her undersized outfits, she hit back in 2005 with what is arguably her best album to date ‘The Emancipation of Mimi’. Unfortunately her comeback had little effect on her clothing choices, which are still decidedly bad. So, yes, there is hope for poor old Britters.

While ‘Glitter’ no doubt found a legion of fans in the tween demographic, the acting fraternity was a little more pleased to see the comeback of Daniel Day-Lewis. The son of poet Cecil Day-Lewis suffered an on-stage nervous breakdown during a 1989 production of 'Hamlet'. The incident brought about an end to his stage career, but he came back to win an Oscar for his performance in ‘My Left Foot’ and receive accolades for his work in ‘In the Name of the Father’ and ‘The Last of the Mohicans’.

Sex scandal comebacks

Proof that American society is not quite as puritan as it would have us believe, is the number of stars who have bounced back from sexual scandals. Loyal fans, it seems, will forgive most sexual perversions and indiscretions…eventually.

Hugh Grant found himself in a spot of trouble in 1995 when he was caught with his pants down in the company of prostitute Divine Brown. He was fined $1180 and sentenced to two years probation. For a brief period, he was the most vilified man in the world (he was dating Liz Hurley for goodness sake!), but then he did what few stars had done before him. He apologised.

A whirlwind ‘mea culpa’ tour saw a humble Hugh Grant apologising to everyone (including Hurley) on every big talk show in America. All was forgiven and he went on to charm the pants off everyone in ‘Nottinghill’, ‘About a Boy’ and ‘Love Actually’.

Less apologetic was Eddie Murphy who was caught in 1997 in the wee hours of the morning soliciting a transvestite hooker called Atisone Kenneth Seicili. He claimed that he was being a good Samaritan by offering a ‘lone woman’ a lift home. In a notorious red-light district. Sure. Few people believed him and yet his batch of family-orientated movies (‘The Nutty Professor’, ‘Dr Doolittle’, ‘Daddy Day Care’) still raked in the cash. Incidentally, the prostitute fell to her death from a roof a year later.

While prostitutes are not likely to do good things for your career unless you’re Julia Roberts, sex with a minor is considerably worse - a situation that Rob Lowe is all too familiar with.

Like all good stories, this one begins with a sex tape. History has shown that this is not necessarily a career stopper. But in the case of Lowe’s 1989 pornographic debut, there was the teeny tiny issue of a threesome involving a minor. After lots of community service and a decade on the D-list, Lowe finally made his comeback on the highly popular TV show, 'The West Wing'.

Moral standards have clearly slipped somewhat, for while Lowe had it pretty hard back in 1989, R.Kelly got off almost completely unscathed. In 1994 he was married briefly to the singer Aaliyah, who was 15 at the time. However this is nothing compared to the 33 counts of child pornography which the singer was charged with from 2002 to 2003. And the fallout? Nothing. Adoring fans continued to buy his slightly creepy songs.