BBC RADIO LEICESTER: DAMIEN ST JOHN SHOW

This afternoon I'm on BBC Radio Leicester as a guest of Damien St John. Damien (photo above) hosts a weekly panel show, broadcast live from 1200-1400, discussing news stories from the past seven days. Rather like "Have I Got News For You", but with three panellists instead of four.

I've been on Damien's Saturday afternoon show once before (see blog entry, 14 July 2012).

The other guests today are Joel Hicks (male model and actor) and Ishy Khan Jackson (comedian, compere and laughter coach). None of us know who'll be in the studio until we turn up ten minutes before the show goes on air. I know Ishy, but haven't met Joel before.

The day before the show we each receive an email from Damien (photo above), briefing us on the topics we're most likely to cover:

Hurricane Sandy As the Eastern seaboard of the United States is devastated by severe weather conditions, what will you remember most about the so-called "superstorm"? What would you do if a storm was due to hit Leicester tomorrow? Novem-brr has been wet and windy so far, please complete this sentence- You know it's nearly winter when...

Marriage The number of unmarried parents is increasing in the UK... What impact does this have on children? Does it matter? What marital circumstances did you grow up under? Are there any benefits to marriage?

In a Pickle British brand Branston Pickle has been sold to a Japanese company... Another nail in British industry or can anything good come of it? Are British products still the best quality? Does it matter which country your items come from?

Wax On Wax Off The world's worst waxwork museum could close... Who do people say you look like? Are museums flawed now we have the internet? What do you do that you couldn't do online?

The Ironing Lady One of Margaret Thatcher's ex-bodyguards claims the former PM often tidied up after people and even cleaned up after "messy dogs"... What was the last good deed you did? Do we ever change our opinions of people?

I've Adder Nough The Foreign Office has spent £10k re-stuffing a 20ft snake in William Hague's office... What's the most useless gift you've ever been given? What do you definitely NOT need or want for Christmas?

Song Challenge Drying your clothes indoors can increase the chances of allergies and health problems... Come up with a well-known clothing-related song to play at the end of the show! I recommend "Hole in My Shoe" by Traffic (there's been an awful lot of rain lately) - and I'm glad to say that my choice gets the nod today!

Joel and I are both men, that much is true. But it's safe to say that we're very different examples of the male form. When we come to the looky-likey question, Joel says he is occasionally mistaken for Tom Hardy - who, of course, plays Bane in The Dark Knight Rises, the final film in Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy. That would definitely make him popular with my son Harry. Damien suggests that it make good radio if Joel and I were to engage in a bout of arm wrestling live on air. I agree, on condition that a sound crew come with me in the ambulance to Leicester General and cover the operation to reattach my arm live on air. I'd say my impromptu response made good radio: how we laughed!