Blancmange ?

BBC chair Samir Shah gets his next Westminster examination on Tuesday, on the nursery slopes of the Lords Communications and Digital Committee. Quentin Letts wrote of Dr Shah's performance at his appointment interview in front of the Culture Select Committee: "Next time we see squeaky little new chap Samir Shah he may start spouting BBC blancmange, but he felt refreshingly different as he was interviewed by MPs". 

Blancmange won't be acceptable to the Committee chair, Baroness (Tina) Stowell, tipped by the Mail for the job Samir got. Shah was made a non-executive on the BBC Executive Board (alongside Mike Lynch) when Tina was running communications for the BBC Trust. 

Lord (Tony) Hall, also on the committee, will have to declare that he and Shah go back to the days of John Birt running BBC News. Baroness (Patience) Wheatcroft has been tipped over time for roles ranging from BBC Business Editor to chair of the BBC Trust, and was among those calling for the resignation of Richard Sharp, who's departure created the space for Samir Shah.