The people have spoken. “Joanna Lumley for prime minister!” went their cry, and lo, it has very nearly come to pass. She has dominated the scene at Westminster in the past few days, campaigning with Gurkha veterans, posing for photographs with the two young opposition party leaders, dazzling members of the home affairs select committee, and finally getting her chance to bend the real prime minister’s ear. Ms Lumley seems to have been more successful in persuading him to change direction than most members of the cabinet.

The sometimes banal world of politics has been supplanted by the glamour of showbiz. And the public has embraced the fantasy with enthusiasm. This campaign was unstoppable. Ms Lumley was Bond girl, New Avenger, Ab Fab groupie and righteous spokeswoman, all at the same time. Petty reality has been left far behind.