The end of the affair

We say: enough! It is with some regret and not a little disappointment that we announce today the end of the honeymoon. Regret and disappointment because this, for a time, was a project that had more than matched the burden of hope and expectation placed on it by the heady promises made in advance and the dire paucity of the other contenders.

We say: enough! It is with some regret and not a little disappointment that we announce today the end of the honeymoon. Regret and disappointment because this, for a time, was a project that had more than matched the burden of hope and expectation placed on it by the heady promises made in advance and the dire paucity of the other contenders.

But that was before disillusionment set in and the engaging lead character was revealed in his true colours. Now, no less a figure than our chief political commentator, previously a tremendous fan, has been heard to say, in these offices: "It's over."

Causes for the decline? Well, certainly, a patchy performance in key areas; a growing perception that the content did not quite match up to the presentation; and, too, the disillusionment that is so often the inevitable concomitant of over-familiarity.

But, should you wish for one principal reason, we would have to say Big Brother is just not the same now Nasty Nick's gone.

Hamlet without the prince; Wooster without Jeeves; William Hague without a pint; Swan Lake without, well, you get the idea. And besides, all this voyeurism can become rather enervating, don't you find? It's over. Next cult television programme, please.