I AM SO DULL, ADMITS PAXO

THE BBC’S former Newsnight Rottweiler Jeremy Paxman has never been boring, but he insists he’s now a member of the Dull Men’s Club of Great Britain. ‘There are so many useful tests to discover if you are dull . . . ringing up the Speaking Clock, liking macaroni cheese and watching the tide go in and out,’ he says. ‘I plead guilty to all.’

Paxo, who steps down as host on University Challenge in the autumn, does take issue in Saga magazine with those who call a daytime nap boring: ‘Name me one person who doesn’t enjoy a decent kip in the day and I will show you a Barbarian.’