:: don't get Cocker

Jarvis Cocker was on Question Time on Thursday. A good choice by the researchers. Jarvis is smart, edgy, well-liked and creative. Goodness knows, the non-political guest is always a light relief from the drilled and devoid party wonks and Cocker was sure to be a welcome and independent voice of reason.

Disappointing then that instead of the arch, eye-brow jiggling author of such modern folk tales as 'Babies', 'Common People' and 'Disco 2000' we were greeted by someone who had been hiding in the attic of a charity shop and living off floor polish. Barely able to begin, let alone complete a sentence, this bewildered substitute had a minuscule grasp of the issues at hand and failed miserably to raise an opinion when invited.

QT tried this about ten years ago. Instead of rotating the Hislops and Huttons across the spare plinth they risked some actors, comics and pop stars. Perhaps they were chasing the yoof audience or maybe they thought, quite reasonably, that mouths from popular culture had the same level of insight and anecdote as the citizens of Westminster village. It was largely hideous. I recall Paul Heaton, very much in the Cocker mould in terms of wry, northern, observational song writing, being almost frozen before the cameras for 60 minutes of embarrassing mumbling. Rather hastily the faces of hip showbiz were replaced by journos, commentators and advisors.

This looks likely to repeat. Which is a genuine shame. I know for a fact that Jarvis and many of his contemporaries are humorous, erudite and sharp - but in the setting of a formalised, newsy debate, they simply confirm many suspicions that pop stars are gormless Muppets.

By all accounts, Thursday's Question Time set was visited by a stray cat during recording. The feline gatecrasher was edited from the show before transmission. I can't help thinking he may have put in a more stimulating performance than Jarvis.

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