Melvyn Bragg. Discuss.

Last night, I watched Olivia Lichtenstein’s acclaimed BBC documentary about His Lordship and came away admiring him more than ever. From genuinely humble beginnings, Melvyn Bragg has achieved astonishing success through intelligence, instinct and a phenomenal capacity for hard work. He seems a nice man, a force for good, who has done so much to champion the arts. And yet, he’s possibly the most self-regarding human being I’ve ever encountered. It’s all about Melvyn. It always was. Which is why he’s so easy to lampoon. So I wondered – is he like this because his surname has somehow compelled him to be? People really do live up to their surnames – I know I do – so maybe Melvyn has too. And of course, the other Bragg (no relation) isn’t noted for his humility either.