Far be it for me to be seen as defending Mr Harding (I rarely listen to any but look at the playlist and cringe) but it matters not whether the programme is his idea of good broadcasting. The reality is that SmoothOps (the outsourced production company with the contract) do what R2 tells them to do. The remit (and I quote roughly from what he says himself) is to tempt listeners to stay with you by avoiding sharp edges where people may decide, without listening, that the next programme isn't for them. This, in BBC-speak, is called 'follow through'. It means 'don't frighten the punters by telling them it's f*lk'.

In a revealing interview in Living Tradition though, he admitted that he wasn't trying to satisfy the 'committed f*lk listener' with one hour devoted to a particular specialism. No surprise there, he'd be fired if he tried it and SmoothOps would fail to win the next bid. But he doesn't care that much. He's tired of people trying to tell him how he should be doing his job, doesn't want to 'waste energy arguing with someone from a f*lk club in Lower Ecclestone or wherever'. He just puts on another krusby track.