the MasterChef final, I asked him whether tears were now an essential condiment of the culinary competition but he was too misty-eyed to answer.
Same goes for The Repair Shop. When someone clutches a clapped-out footstool, it feels like the upholsterer is only adjudged to have done a solid job if the recipient blubs on seeing it freshly stuffed.
As for talent shows, they’ve long been awash. Recently, I caught a bit of BGT. The Barnsley Youth Choir had barely sang a few bars of Fix You before the audience fell apart.
And while I only saw a few segments of the last series of Strictly, there seemed to be as much weeping as waltzing. Made me think of the original Come Dancing when the full extent of personal info revealed was that the formation team from Penge had sewn every sequin on by hand.
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