Change the script

If, like me, you’re a bit of a news nerd then the Sunday morning politicofest is must-see TV. Starting with The Andrew Marr Show on BBC1, moving on to Sunday Live with Adam Boulton on Sky News before switching back to Auntie for The Politics Show, the weekly fix of punditry and party political banter is addictive stuff. As the advert for Marr’s show goes, it’s like reading all the Sunday papers and their supplements in one easy hit.

So, forgive me for being finicky but shouldn’t the producers of these respective shows do their homework so they’re not duplicating each other’s content? On today’s Andrew Marr Show at 9am was Nick Clegg and Dame Shirley Williams. An hour later, Nick Clegg inevitably turns up on Adam Boulton and so too does, yes, you guessed it, Dame Shirley Williams (in fact, Williams’ went AWOL and didn’t make it to the show for her planned appearance but you get my point). Luckily, The Politics Show was a Clegg free, Williams free zone because, even an ardent politico like me, couldn’t stand triple helpings of the same rehashed dish.