Gordon did a light-hearted, well light-hearted by his standards, Q & A session with husky voiced, liberal-thinking man’s crumpet, Mariella Frostrup. It seems like it was only yesterday that he signaled his disapproval of aspects of Britain’s celebrity culture: “It is a remarkable culture where people appear on television and are famous simply for the act of appearing on television.”

Mariella is, errm, a famous TV presenter…