Three short years ago, foppish motormouth Jonathan Ross was the undisputed champion of TV chat. How times change. He was suspended by the Beeb in the wake of the Sachsgate scandal and, a year later, announced that he was leaving the Corporation. After 14 months off the air, he returns on a new channel with a new-look show. Gone are house band Four Poofs & a Piano. Also gone, sadly, will be the host's repeated mentions of his beloved black pug Mr Pickle, who died this summer while the two were filming a travelogue. So will Ross's signature near-the-knuckle questions, risqué repartee and scabrous wit survive the move to a commercial channel and earlier time slot? And will he still be able to attract A-list guests? For this opening edition, the guestlist is solid but not stellar. Waiting in the green room are racing driver Lewis Hamilton, on a break from the current Formula 1 season; Sex and the City star Sarah Jessica Parker, whose new film I Don't Know How She Does It, adapted from Telegraph columnist Allison Pearson's novel, opens in a fortnight; and award-winning Brit singing sensation Adele, who performs the bluesy stomper Rumour Has It from her album 21.

Is this the funniest woman in Britain?

She's as comedic as Tommy Cooper and as hilarious as Hattie Jacques. Now Miranda Hart has won the affections of Allison Pearson.