Did You See That

I’m a bit of a Neil Diamond fan so was looking forward to this “Audience with” on Saturday night. Diamond didn’t disappoint with a superb mix of classic hits and his newer, critically acclaimed material. I’ve never really seen him in conversation before so it was interesting to see him answering questions. He came across as intelligent, charismatic, intense, funny and sensitive. The show was polished and even the programme titles seemed a tad classier than the usual ITV fayre.

I did feel a bit sorry for Neil Diamond though, as he was probably led to believe his audience would be celebrities - and there were some proper ones - but for the whole, it was some very low ranking celebs. Here’s a run down of some of the faces that stood out, in descending order of their celebrity status in my eyes…

• Dame Judi Dench - Genuine A Lister
• Tim Rice
• Barbara Windsor
• Michael Aspel
• Johnny Vegas
• Germain Greer
• Matt De Angelo
• Claire Balding
• Toby Anstiss
• Dom Littlewood
• =Richy Neville from 5
• =Kris Akabussi

I’ve given Richy Neville and Kris Akabussi joint last place. No offence to them, but maybe ITV should consider a smaller venue if those two warrant an invite.

Search for Neil Diamond at Amazon.co.uk