Also engaging is Ronnie Corbett’s And it’s Goodnight from Him, written with David Nobbs, a former scriptwriting colleague (Penguin, £20). Any entertainer knows that the audience must always get what it wants, and so rather than a straight autobiography, this is instead the story of the Two Ronnies. Corbett seems commendably accepting of the fact that the critical praise has always accrued to Barker, who, under the pseudonym Gerald Wiley, wrote much of the duo’s material and had a more successful extramural career. Corbett was never a mere foil, but it’s true that Barker’s was the real talent that gave them their fame. Reading over some of the sketches set out in full, I was struck by how well the comedy has aged. While the rest of the prime-time performers from that era now seem so dated, much of the Two Ronnies’ work remains fresh, thanks to a writing team that included Terry Jones, Michael Palin and Graham Chapman, as well as Barker himself. The book closes with an account of the duo’s final goodbye, which conveys a sense of love and loss that is quietly and deeply affecting.

There are undeniably far too many celebrity life stories around. They are elbowing better books from the high street, and many are joylessly, hopelessly drafted and provide a terrible example of what writing can be. However, we should perhaps not give up on the genre entirely. There are always one or two decent books among the rubbish — but, for the sake of national sanity, I hope I am the only person to read five in a week.

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