David Quantick

As his delectable series on how to get by in cultured company begins a new run we asked David Quantick what we could expect to hear this time: The Blagger's returns like a prodigal pig, if there is such a thing, he said. And for those who've never encountered it before, this is the perfect introduction to the style of Mr Quantick's advice: what he says sounds believable, but there's always a gentle fib or even an outrageous lie to counteract any actual truths that he might offer up. This time he's teaching us everything we ever needed to know about country and western music.

The funniest show on radio for the last few weeks has been David Quantick's The Blagger's Guide, whose run is now sadly over.

Tonic of the week was Westminster Side Story, the first in a new run of 15-Minute Musicals. The pastiche of West Side Story was inspired, and the political jokes were convincing as two gangs, Gordon's Goodies and the Hugger Hoodies, battled to dominate the centre ground.

Written by Dave Cohen, David Quantick and Richie Webb, performed by Webb, David Lamb and Mel Hudson, it was just the thing to blow away gathering clouds of conference-season cant.

Calling Beethoven 'the Sinatra of the sonata' is, without doubt, good. And David Quantick is the man to do so. His Blagger's Guide to the Classics on Radio 2 was a bonkers phonic fiesta in familiar Quantick style, meaning it was quick-fire, informative and very, very funny. Whether discussing Beethoven - 'the genius's genius', 'so important that even pop stars have heard of him', 'combed his hair with his feet' - or the woodwind section ('the part of the orchestra most likely to be bullied'), Quantick made you laugh while helping you understand. Though even a classical dummy like me already knew most of what was being imparted (a common problem with Radio 2 documentaries), Quantick's delivery and the programme's pace and wit left you feeling breathless rather than bored. And his cheekiness knew no bounds.

Here's Quantick on opera: It's not all big women dressed in Hagar the Horrible helmets and fat chavs singing about insomnia. But it should be.

Hooray for silly summer radio!

Then, in the comedy buffer zone, came The Blagger's Guide, half an hour of comedian David Quantick, a sort of mock-lecture on various musical genres (last weekend: prog rock, from Pink Floyd to Kate Bush), with just too much solemn expertise showing through for the mockery quite to work. In other words, it was an anorak pretending to be a torn T-shirt.