IT'S STILL NOT NUMBER ONE

We're not quite so sure the figures for Top of the Pops in its new BBC TWO home are quite as grim as they appear at first sight: a six per cent share on a smaller channel isn't too bad, although having the once-mighty insitution beaten by Channel 4 showing an old Carry On movie must hurt a little. Since it swapped, the audience has fallen from 2.4 million to an average of 1.1 million - although that's not bad considering the current format of the Pops is pretty poor indeed. There's an added question of why what is clearly being considered a family show is being forced now to compete with Antiques Roadshow and Emmerdale - it was hard enough to make it struggle with Corrie, but now the programme is getting nibbled from both sides.

We could make suggestions - no more interviews, ever; dump the guests and ask them to take Fearne with them; instead of allowing the whimsy of the production team to dictate the vintage clips which get shown, ask the audience what they want to see (why not actually get Michael Aspel in to chair a revived Ask Aspel slot?); put it on at six-thirty and do the Top Ten in a link-up with Radio One. We could make suggestions, but would anyone listen?

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