For those, like me, who still lament the passing of that excellent satire Drop the Dead Donkey, the first episode of Taking the Flak on BBC2 came as a crushing disappointment.
So poor was the script – and unremarkable the acting – that I can’t recall a single laugh-out-loud moment.
Those tired old clichés about journalists being vain, immoral, sex-obsessed egotists are starting to wear a bit thin. We can, it’s true, be a pompous lot, and we ought to learn to laugh at ourselves more. Shame this much-hyped new series doesn’t afford us the opportunity.