No Rock And Roll Fun

SEACREST UNSEATS SHAGGY: Ryan Seacrest is replacing Casey Kasem as presenter of the chart rundown on American Radio. Oh, sure, you might laugh, but everyone laughed when Wes Butters was plucked from obscurity to... um... [checks Google] bugger me, apparently Wes presents the Panda Pops Top 40 on Radio One.

But while the host of American Pop Idol is adding a chart rundown to his portfolio (he's also going to be doing his own show for Fox on the telly, which kind of suggests just how poor he must be), in Britain Pop Idol has brought about the end of a chart presenter's career. Dr. Fox is to step down from his job reading out the commercial chart that nobody much cares about on a dwindling number of ILR stations. Fox blames pressure of time - he also does Capital's drive time slot, and is constantly having to answer phone calls and letters intended for Dr. Liam Fox, Tory Party chairman. (By the way, congratulations to ITV.com news for headlining the story 'Dr Fox to leave radio' even though their own report makes clear he's continuing with his teatime show.)