Quite Irritating

I have several times tried to watch the BBC TV programme ‘QI’ but with each attempt I get more exasperated. If you haven’t seen it, let me describe the format. The host Stephen Fry spouts detailed little-known facts to the indulgent panel members who feign interest whilst privately thinking about the cheque. I bet Fry was doing the same sort of thing at the age of five, impressing his parents’ friends in the drawing room with his precocious knowledge.

However, the format itself is not the reason why this ‘panel game’ is – for me – unwatchable. It’s Fry’s incessant fidgeting. On the desk in front of him is a stack of question cards and a pen. Whilst testing the patience of the panel members to the limit in the aforementioned way, he is picking up the pen, then the cards, then the pen, then the cards … Leave them alone!