A lot of people don’t care for the work of comedian Michael McIntyre; I’ve heard complaints that he’s too lightweight, that he’s too slick, and even (more strangely) that he laughs too much at his own material.

Anyway, I like his stuff – it reminds me, in a way, of Bob Monkhouse, in that it’s very slick and polished, which can be slightly offputting, but lurking beneath it is a lot of work and comedy knowledge. It’s a funny convention of comedy performance that a lot of the time comedians are expected to deliver lines as if they’ve just occurred to them, I always think.

All that aside, whether you like or loathe Mr McIntyre, I think that very few people won’t see their estimation of him raised by this news report from earlier this week.

As we cool kids say whilst bumping knuckles*, respect is due.

*Not like that, you filthy sort.