THERE’S no other word for it, I’m afraid.
Life On Mars was, as feared, snubbed by the judges at the Bafta TV Awards in London last night.
But the viewing public sent the Academy a clear message – you got it wrong.
John Simm broke into a huge smile when the hit Manchester show took the Pioneer Audience Award.
Helped in part by devoted fans at The Railway Arms, it was a fully deserved win for Life On Mars.
The prize is the only category voted for by the public and not the judges, but also the only accolade which does not result in the award of a coveted Bafta mask.
It was clear in the press room at the London Palladium just how popular Life On Mars is, as it was in the auditorium.
So there was disappointment when Simm lost out in the Actor category to Longford’s Jim Broadbent.
And even greater surprise as The Street got the nod for the Drama Series gong, ahead of the men from Mars.
You can’t say that both awards were not deserved by their respective recipients.
But they were all too predictable “Bafta choices” and, in my opinion, the wrong ones.

THE white horse from the very first Wembley FA Cup Final in 1923 was much missed at today’s match.
For a start, equine hero Billie could have cleared a crowd of 22 exhausted trespassers masquerading as footballers off the new Wembley turf.
As is often the case, the anticipation and build up for the Man Utd v Chelsea final was far more exciting than the actual match itself.
My question on behalf of armchair fans? Is it possible to sue BBC continuity announcers?
“So now on BBC1, it’s the big one. Football history in the making,” was the promise at 12.40pm.
That sort of thing always ends in tears.
Hearing the Match of the Day theme before sunset still seems all wrong to me.
But as the Grandstand bit of Cup Final Grandstand has been foolishly axed by the BBC, that’s what we have to put up with.

THE stars gather tomorrow for the Bafta TV awards – and I’ll be there to report for both the MEN and this blog.
Red carpet arrivals at the London Palladium begin at 5pm, with the doors due to close around 6pm.
The awards, hosted by Graham Norton, start at 6.30pm and end at 8.30pm.
They will be screened “as live” on BBC1 between 8pm and 10pm.
I’ve already given my views on who I’d like to see win in an MEN TV feature here.
The Bafta juries faced several tough calls this year in what is, in any event, a highly subjective process.
How, for example in the Actor category, do you judge Jim Broadbent’s performance in Longford against John Simm as Sam Tyler in Life On Mars, Michael Sheen as Kenneth Williams in Fantabulosa! or Andy Serkis as Ian Brady, also in Longford?

TODAY’S episode of Neighbours ended with a big bang, which turned out to be rather appropriate.
The explosion just before the closing credits in the lunchtime screening followed on from TV drama of a different kind a few minutes before.
BBC1 controller Peter Fincham appeared in the studio towards the end of the 1pm BBC News to announce he had turned his back on the Aussie soap.
After several weeks of heated negotiations with distributor Fremantle, he revealed that the BBC had pulled out of the bidding.
A few hours’ later came confirmation that Channel Five had snatched the show, with the Neighbours on the move from next spring.
It’s perhaps significant that both Five and Fremantle are owned by the same company – RTL.
ITV had also been in the running for Neighbours.
But they, like the BBC, might also have had concerns about being asked to pay £300m for a new eight year deal.

“THAT’S the basic premise,” said Robert Glenister. “But I don’t understand it.”
He was explaining to me one of the plots in the new series of Hustle.
“I have to read it about three times before I understand it.”
Patricia Hodge guest stars in tonight’s episode as a ruthless nursing home owner who likes to rob elderly people and steals from charities.
So, naturally, she’s a perfect mark for the Hustle gang.
Robert was once married to New Tricks and At Home With The Braithwaites actress Amanda Redman.
And it was Amanda who encouraged his younger brother – Life On Mars star Philip Glenister – to follow Robert into acting.

NOW, didn’t I tell you not to take it too seriously?
Serbia’s fist-clenching Marija Serifovik won the Eurovision Song Contest last night – and the UK’s Scooch finished joint second last.
Marija had been second favourite, so her victory wasn’t unexpected.
Also entirely predictable are the protests about the “flawed” voting system – and the Eastern bloc vote.
Leaving that aside for the moment, TV viewers across Europe and elsewhere were treated to a magnificent show last night.
Terry Wogan, doing his usual brilliant job for BBC1, was right to lavish praise on the “wonderful staging” – and the two main presenters.
He also singled out at least one error of judgement by the production team. “The girl in the pink frock…a brave effort.”
But even our Tel sounded a little weary as the three hours and 15 minutes of Eurovision drew to a close.

THE voting is almost as crazy as the outfits on stage, so it’s always best not to take it too seriously.
If you watched the Eurovision Song Contest semi-final on BBC3 last night, you’ll know what to expect in the final itself tomorrow.
None of the favourites from western Europe made it through the phone vote.
Nine of the chosen songs came from eastern Europe, with Turkey the other country among the 10 qualifiers.
I’ve now watched all 24 finalists ahead of tomorrow night’s final in Helsinki, which starts on BBC1 at 8pm.
Hosted for UK television by Terry Wogan, it’s certain to be a fabulous evening for Eurovision fans everywhere.
But don’t be too disappointed if your chosen song doesn’t win.
Here’s my guide to the finalists, in the order they will sing, along with their odds at the time of writing.

A footnote to yesterday’s blog about my trip to the new Wembley Stadium on Tuesday.
I knew as soon as I spotted them that a story about pink seats at the £800m venue would have – as they say in the trade – “legs”.
But it’s always interesting to see just how far a story can spread after it’s appeared first in the MEN.
So far it’s been used by the Metro here, by the Daily Telegraph on its front page here and sports pages here, the Daily Mail here and here and the BBC News website here.
In addition, the story made the back page lead in later editions of last night’s Evening Standard.
Some also used the photo I took (above left) for the MEN of one pile of pink seats in the middle of being replaced by new red ones.
Now the story has been picked up by both Sky News and BBC News, who devoted a film report to the subject tonight.
Manchester United fans going to the FA Cup Final needn’t worry.

ARE you sitting comfortably? Then I’ll begin.
I spent part of yesterday afternoon taking a look around inside the new Wembley Stadium.
It’s every bit as impressive as it should be for the £800m plus price tag, aside from a little problem involving some of the seats.
Ahead of the first FA Cup Final to be held at the new stadium, I went into the dressing rooms to be used by Manchester United and Chelsea on May 19.
I traced the route of the 107 steps up to the royal box and sat in the pitch-side seat which will be occupied by Sir Alex Ferguson a week on Saturday.
Wembley managing director Alex Horne and proud grounds manager Steve Welch also took time out for a chat.
There’ll be more about the new Wembley in an MEN feature ahead of the Cup Final next week.