There you go; I had no idea bitch was so bad over there either. It's almost not even a bad word over here anymore, just a bit crass. Like dick or ass.

In this country it depends on who is saying it to whom (it could be exchanged between friends I guess, like the n word)

If I heard a child say it in school they would go straight to the Headmaster.
And if I heard a parent saying it in front of a child I would wince.

It's worse than bastard as well as having misogynistic overtones.

I wonder if that's regional? We used it all the time to describe people who were mean (mostly female, but not always) or as a verb to mean complaining "Quit yer bitchin'"

Probably. The word "mare" is considered equally rude as "bitch" to my parents. Means nothing to people round here.

Don't know how things currently work, but there used to be limits on how many times each swear word could be used in a programme. Dramas I mean, not sure what the rules were for interview shows.