Pon de replay

Martin Bashir, 53, (Wandsworth School for Boys, King Alfred's College of Higher Education, Winchester, and King's College London - English & History) is to be the new BBC Religious Affairs correspondent. It's not clear how he's been earning a crust since resigning from MSNBC in December 2013.

The BBC internal email announcing the appointment describes him as a student of theology. (This may be analagous to me being a student of Everton FC.) In New York in recent years he's been attending Tim Keller's Redeemer Presbyterian Church, founded in 1989.

In 2010, Martin, who plays bass guitar, released an album of his own reggae tunes, Bass Lion. The backing tracks were recorded in New York, and the various vocals added in trips to Jamaica.