And so our love/hate relationship with MPs’ expenses continues. Waking this morning I found myself invited by the Guardian to “help journalists spot claims of particular interest”.

That’s the thing. We are interested in MPs' expenses (as well as being shocked an appalled by them, of course). Beneath the furore that is currently erupting over Quentin Davies’ bell tower, you can practically hear whoever spotted that gem rubbing their hands together in glee.

I can’t help but think that the demands for totals to be published stems not only from a desire for transparency, but also from an impatience for bite-sized entertainment, brought to us in digestible chunks — we don’t like to sit through the adverts, we don’t want to count receipts ourselves.

Don’t make a drama out of a crisis? Oh no, wait, scrap that. With their MPs’ expenses drama, “Bringing down the House”, BBC4 are pandering to an eager market. The nation will be thoroughly engrossed by villains (Michael Martin will be played by former Hannibal actor, Brian Cox) and freedom fighters (cue Heather Brooke, whose FoI requests helped get the ball rolling).

I think it might even get bumped up to BBC1.

(Photo: Getty Images)