I’m just wondering when TV presenters became more interesting than what they’re presenting — or rather, when they think they did. And when producers encourage them.

I think there is an incredible, just incredible fear that people won’t watch anything. We have to be told that this is interesting, by a bloke — it’s usually a bloke — who stands in the way of whatever it is. There’s the turn to camera that says gosh, this is exciting and I’m wonderful. Here’s the dialogue to camera saying what’s next is really interesting, immediately followed by the dialogue to camera saying what you just briefly glimpsed was really interesting, and I’m wonderful.

Or you’ll recognise this. “It’s morning now, but in ten hours the whole day is meant to turn into night. Can the day make it in time?” Entirely, derisibly false pressure — “it’s hotting up now” — over something that would actually be pressured, that would actually be really interesting, if we could just please see it.

Some presenters are worse than others, true. Some have gone to that school where they are trained / to speak only / three words at / a time in / case we can’t / follow what they / are saying now. To which I have to tell you / I have screamed./

Then Giles Coren used to make me wish for the TV set to be divided into two. He co-presented “Amazing Hotels” with chef Monica Galetti who actually knew what she was talking about. If you ever had the smallest doubt that Coren was clueless, you only had to wait a few minutes before he would tell you that he was and seem to think this is something we should be really interested in watching for an hour.

Or Gregg Wallace. Now persona no grata for his behaviour, I can count the number of tiimes I saw a listing for a documentary that sounded really – oh, it’s him. Never mind. It was twice, actually.

There’s definitely an argument that I present too much in my 58keys YouTube channel, but I’m only on that because I’m cheap and available. I’ve been introduced at events as the finest writer we could find in our price range and I want that as a poster quote.

This is all on my mind because the other day I heard Kirsty Wark presenting on BBC Radio 4 and I couldn’t help thinking yes, that’s how it should be done. Or recently the podcast 99% Invisible celebrated its 15th anniversary by interviewing the show’s presenter, Roman Mars. He was literally the subject of the episode, and yet without dodging questions, he made it be about the topics the series has covered.

I’m minded of the seven pilot episodes I made of 58keys as I tried to concisely convey why anyone should listen to me on whatever the topic is. Every one of those was thrown away and I have never since tried to justify the series, I just get on with it and trust that either you’ll find the subject interesting or you’ll find something better to watch.

Next week’s 58keys is about Shortcuts on the Mac, iPhone and iPad, and you’re already thinking of watching a dozen Philomena Funk short clips instead. But I promise you, if you were to watch, you wouldn’t hear me saying this is really interesting and I’m wonderful.