the presenters

On Quest, Al Murray was presenting a series of programmes about World War II. He seems a little bit lost without his Pub Landlord persona, as if wondering whether the joke is now on him; wearing a tin hat several sizes too big for him, he looks like he's hoping to be Ross Kemp when he grows up.

Later, along comes Brian Cox. Wonders Of The Universe. Oh dear. I remember the days when science programmes were fronted by men with beards and pipes, standing in front of blackboards, people you could trust. Now it's some goon who clearly took too much E when he was the keyboard player with D:Ream. I used to think he was soppy but now, watching him grinning inanely while discussing the death of the universe - and talking about how the whole of humanity might be crushed into a space the size of this rock he's holding - and saying that there is 'nothing' inside him... I understand that he is in fact psychotic.

They put him in a centrifuge so that he can experience the gravity of some remote planet - in fact, this is clearly the only way they could find to stop him smiling. It works for a while, but it isn't pleasant - it's sort of like seeing his face ripped off. When the grin bounces back again, it's almost a relief.