Robert Peston and his hair

Robert Peston has a new hair style. And the viewing public doesn’t like it. The BBC’s respected Economics Editor, whom I hold in a certain regard since he always seems to explain difficult concepts in a highly understandable way, has given up his former Oliver Cromwell coiffure in favour of something altogether more long, flowing and, well, floppily romantic. The Roundhead has become a rather groovy Cavalier, and yet for some strange reason the Peston inbox is groaning with the weight of abuse. One person has even accused him of stealing Hugh Grant’s look, which, inter alia, is hilarious given the disgust with which Grant views all journalists these days.

Me interviewing Boris about hairstyles…maybe!

This could be me interviewing Boris about Robert Peston’s hair. As a matter of fact, it’s not, but it could be. Peston has broken out, become a persona in his own right. This of course is gold dust to anyone in the BBC Newsroom. What Peston is not admitting is that getting any notice, good or not, is part of the game. In the newsroom, BBC correspondents are traditionally pitted against one another in what is best described as a gladiatorial fight to get on air. Once this is achieved, they have only a miniscule window for ego– which of course must come secondary to the story they are delivering. Having an online forum in which your hair is an issue is icing on the cake.