Critical acclaim

They were thinking about laying trails of World Cinema DVDs, or quality Pinot Noirs, to tempt him out. In the end, he came quietly.  For a couple of years, uber-critic Mark Lawson has exercised "droit du seigneur" over an enclosed space in the refurbished area of "old" Broadcasting House.  He treated it like an office on his day trips from Towcester.

But the future for the BBC's Arts teams is the wide-open spaces of "new" Broadcasting House. And over the past few weeks, as producers and editors of Radio 4's Front Row have braved life in this tundra, Mark has been creeping back to his comfort blanket - in an area now owned by BBC Radio 4 features.

I understand Mark has now been reconciled to his new observed open-plan life - do as you would be done by, I say.