Merton and co win my vote

NOT a soul voted him in, a strangely unmanageable turnout of 65 per cent threatened to leave him hungry and second homeless this time round, and until last night, Gordon Brown was still managing to leave his gold tops out on the 10 Downing Street doorstep.

Before the breaking news of Brown’s shock resignation yesterday, the “Have I Got Election News For You” crew, despite no real time to sharpen their post-election claws on Friday, creamed its ballot-box TV rivals into submission.

Messrs Merton, Hislop, guest host Jo Brand — and ousted Lib-Dem Lembit Opik — left them all hanging.

“The country has spoken, but we’re not sure what they said,” was a fine opening gambit, the like of which even Bruce Forsyth struggled to equal as the results poured in.

While our spoilt schoolboy-esque politicians were busy passing round notes to each other — “Tell Nick I think he’s fit — Gordon,” — the “Have I got News For You” special was the only election programme in which anything actually happened.

Nice to see a hung parliament, to see a hung parliament — nice.


IF you’ve never seen “Facejacker” (Channel 4, Friday 10pm) it’s like a cross between “Trigger Happy TV” and “The Ali G Show” . . . with an X-factor. If you’ve never seen “Trigger Happy TV” or “The Ali G Show”, you’re probably more of an “X Factor” fan . . . best leave it.


RICKY Gervais’s profoundly peculiar yet hilarious podcasts have made it to the small screen at last. Aside from Gervais’s likeness to Fred Flintstone, Channel 4’s animated version of the fabulously funny and completely pointless conversations between Gervais, Stephen Merchant and Karl Pilkington are a joy to behold.


But this show is nothing to do with what it looks like — it’s all about dialogue as Pilkington’s fly-like mind buzzes around trying to find a window. Guaranteed laugh-out-loud entertainment.


Soap roar: It’s been baby-this and baby-that with Corrie would-be adoptees Steve and Becky. Yet neither of them seems to have noticed that little Amy has already been replaced by a different little actress.


Soap bore: Blanche’s death shook the Barlow household on “Coronation Street”. After discovering a mysterious “in the event of my death” letter in Blanche’s bedroom, Deidre declared a good sort through her own drawers. No wonder Ken was quick to welcome back jailbird Tracy for the funeral.