NOEL EDMONDS... THE WILDERNESS YEARS

Probably the most surreal moment in the vortex of craziness which was this year’s Celebrity Big Brother was the fleeting friendship between fellow tabloid pariahs George Galloway and Michael Barrymore. At one point the maverick MP even expressed his sincere hope that the embattled TV legend would ‘dazzle’ in the house and subsequently be restored to his rightful position as king of light entertainment. The odds on this happening seemed pretty remote at the time, and still do. But given the news this week that Noel Edmonds is once again to become the highest paid presenter on television, perhaps the prospects of a Barrymore comeback aren't as far-fetched as we might have hoped...

Since the Beeb called time on Noel’s House Party six years ago its eponymous star has shown all the classic signs of a post-career breakdown , retreating from the media spotlight except to take occasional exasperated pot-shots at the government over fringe issues such as wind farms and fox hunting. But now he's back, fronting Channel 4's pointless but infuriatingly addictive gameshow 'Deal or No Deal?' and pushing facial hair fashion back two decades...

Personally, I can't say I'm exactly enthralled by the prospect of Noel's Lazarus-style career renaissance... During his initial reign of terror in the late 80's/early 90's he was to TV what Phil Collins was to music - irksome, reactionary, ubiquitous . His brand of juvenile light entertainment might seem rather quaint and anachronistic now (Mr Blobby, Telly Addicts, gunge tanks, freak helicopter accidents) but at the time seemed to represent the worst aspects of Thatcherite lowbrow hegemony.

Anyway, the only reason I'm really bothering to mention this at all is that Noel and myself do share a tenuous connection, both being former pupils of Brentwood School in Essex. Other slightly unappetising alumni include Holocaust denier David Irving (who was actually invited back to speak!), Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, Britart irritant Keith Allen and the entertainingly unhinged Jodie Marsh who, word has it, doesn't hold particularly fond memories of the place...