If it’s Friday it must be Any Questions, our regular chance to eavesdrop on the nation’s conversation with itself. So much better than the shouty television version of the show, Any Questions meets the Reithian objective of informing, educating and entertaining. The questions are usually intelligent and to the point. The discussion is usually civilised and substantial.

The programme helps to remind us that the BBC is a British broadcasting corporation. There is a world outside London, filled with different accents, attitudes – and licence-fee payers. As well as political debate, the show offers us a weekly dose of civic pride, beaming in from schools and church halls around the country.