The new series of Watchdog seems to be pursuing a strongly anti-retail agenda

Watchdog has had so many different formats and presenters down the years. I first remember it when it was John Stapleton and his Scottish wife, whose name I can’t remember but used to describe everything as a “potential death-trap”. More recently, I appeared on it a couple of times in the Nicky Campbell and Julia Bradbury era, when they did quite a lot of stuff about people’s favourite and least favourite retailers, when it was hard hitting but at least it was constructive.

The new format, with Anne Robinson and the usually excellent sports presenter (and son of a Chelsea legend) Chris Hollins, is awful, and appears to be pursuing a strongly anti-retailer agenda. Last week it went big on the astonishing news that promotions on smaller pack sizes can sometimes make them better value than larger ones, while last night they had a ridiculous piece about supermarket ready meals not looking like their pictures on the pack.

I’m no chef but one thing I do know about is cooking ready meals. If you microwave something which is supposed to have a crispy topping, like lasagne or a cottage pie - which is what they did on the programme - it won’t go brown on top, and instead will go slushy and horrible. That’s why the instructions always say ‘best cooked in a conventional oven.’ If you do that, they come out of the oven just like they do on the packaging.

Rubbish telly.