Questionable Time

The BBC's odd habit of putting celebrities on the Question Time panel hit a new low last night when two-fifths of the guests owed their presence to show business rather than politics or journalism.

David Mitchell has appeared on the programme a couple of times in the past and as an occasional satirist isn't entirely out of place but Fern Britton was embarrassingly gauche and her involvement stretched Question Time's credibility to breaking point.

David Mitchell gives the impression that he's not sure why he's there. Anyone who has followed his career will be aware that he has a keen ear for the absurd vocabulary of political rhetoric and, to be fair to him, he has an abundance of common sense when talking about the issues of the day. But Mitchell is a comedian and occasionally he speaks as though he's just remembered that's the real reason that he's there and he begins to offer a little half-hearted jesting.

Fern Britton also didn't appear to know why she was there either. Indeed, it wasn't altogether clear if she actually realised she was there. You could say she was refreshingly candid about the extent of her ignorance or you could say she was woefully ill-prepared for an appearance on the nation's premier political discussion programme.

Britton's answer to the first question was "I don't know"; her answer to the second question was a bit more confident but undermined with the words "I'm not sure" at the end which brought us to the third question which was concerned the advisability of negotiating with the Taleban. Fern Britton's contribution to this vexed question? She told us that it's usually nicer to talk to people than it is to fight with them. As trusisms go, this was especially banal. One of the most difficult questions of our age addressed as though it's a dispute that's arisen between a couple of schoolboys.

Later on, David Mitchell started riffing about his misgivings about dressage in his answer to a question about the mistreatment of circus animals and won the laughter of the audience in a fashion that appeared to wrong-foot him once again. The whole 'why am I here?' question appeared to flash through his mind again and he curtailed the comedy by reversing clumsily into a cul-de-sac that contained neither comedy or wisdom.

But unsurprisingly, it was Fern Britton who provided the dumbest moment. Asked about the changes to the pension regulations, Britton declared herself among those who are affected. Really? A woman who earns as much as Fern Britton felt troubled by the idea that she has to work for an additional five years before she can get her hands on a state pension? It says much for the politeness of Question Time audiences that she wasn't howled down for this crass attempt to show solidarity with those who will be genuinely affected by the coming changes.

Question Time isn't always as entertaining as it might be but an attempt to fix this by including people on the panel whose views are irrelevant is likely to transform the programme into something else altogether. There are already enough opportunities for David Mitchell and Fern Britton to offer their views without Question Time's producers having to endanger their programme's credibility by offering them a place on the panel.