Just as Keris had a problem working out quite why she likes DIY SOS so much (though I think we can agree that Mr. Nick Knowles may have *something* to do with it), I really don’t know why I enjoy School’s Out as much as I do. I mean, I shouldn’t actively enjoy this show, should I? I shouldn’t think ‘oooh, School’s Out is on – gotta make sure I watch that!’ But somehow… that’s entirely the case. It should be utterly average. In fact, I think it probably *is* utterly average, but I seem to get a whole lot more out of it than the programme-makers put in.

So let’s try and work this out. Is it the presenter, Danny Wallace? I know some people absolutely loath the guy, but I think he’s a decent presenter (who was definitely wasted on Castaway), and he was Web 2.0 before the phrase even existed, what with all his Join Me stuff. He’s quick, and seems to enjoy the whole thing… but I don’t think he’s the reason I like it so much.

Maybe it’s just the idea, and my ability to indulge in nostalgia, despite only having left school three years ago. For those who haven’t seen this, it’s a quiz show with celebrity panellists, who have to answer the sort of questions we got in pop tests way back when – Wallace introduces the show by saying we’ll get questions about oxbow lakes if we’re lucky. The fact that that makes me chuckle is persuading me that it *is* the nostalgia thing that makes me like it so much. It’s also great that we get to hear bits of the contestants’ report cards – teachers just aren’t allowed to be quite so blunt, these days, are they?

The casting is usually pretty good too, with at least one guest a week being a cut above the sort you might expect. Yesterday we had Nick Knowles (he gets everywhere, doesn’t he..?) Jenny Falconer (lovely, if not exactly exciting), and (here’s the exciting one) Adrian Edmondson. A proper comedy legend, no less. And the quality of the guests always tells when it comes to the French Oral test – people who can be funny in another language are genuinely funny. However, even the professional comedians are often out-shone by the French tutor, Mademoiselle Virginie, who I think might just be the star of the show. She’s mean and sarcastic, (it’s an act, I’m sure) and deals with the inevitable ‘tu es tres jolie’ comment with aplomb every week. Give the girl her own show.

Above all, I think I like this programme because it seems as though the panellists like it, too. Goodness knows there’s a glut of panel shows out there, so it’s good to watch one where the guests are actually having fun. [annawaits]