Another Case Of Milton Jones

Now here comes autumn, with Another Case of Milton Jones on Thursdays to prove again that Radio 4 can make you stony-faced quicker than botox. Milton Jones is described in the Radio Times as 'the Perrier Award-winning king of the one-liners'. Maybe the Perrier judges that year were all aged 11.

Jones's jokes are of the variety that might appeal to little Chesney on Coronation Street, the red-haired child whose japes include putting soot on the eye pieces of binoculars.

Most of Jones's revolve around word confusion ('under budget' turns into 'under Budgens' which, in a sketch about architecture, leads to a project ending up beneath a grocery shop), or word association - for example, 'Brazil' leads to 'nut' and 'nut' leads to 'madness'. If by this time you'll accept an eighth of a laugh, or even a sixteenth, Milton (and his adroit tape editor) eventually came up with the goods in a sketch about running a sweet shop for the stars, in which George Michael asked for a Wispa, Chuck Berry a Rolo, Whitney Houston for a Yorkie and Elvis Costello said it was a good year for the Roses.

Even if you're not of a pun-loving disposition, it's hard not to warm to Another Case Of Milton Jones

Duff gags, convoluted silliness and double entendres so bad they make you squeak: yes, Another Case of Milton Jones is back. And those are some of its best bits.

This is how bad the so bad-it's-good vibe is. In the midst of a ludicrous scene set in France, Jones meets up with his chum Anton. 'I thought we arranged to meet at the boulangerie,' says Anton. 'Ah,' replies Jones, in a moment of realisation. 'Not playing boules in our lingerie.'

Somehow this is all quite addictive. Occasionally, the jokes aren't quite preposterously weak enough, and then they are dull, but who cares when they are redeemed by Jones's one-liners at their kooky, goofy finest ('I was working on plans for a psychiatric hospital in Brazil in the shape of a giant nut').

Recalling a time when he ran a chocolate shop, Jones remembered serving George Michael, who wanted a Wispa - cue a clip of Michael singing 'whisper' - and then he slipped on it. Cue, you've guessed it, him singing 'a careless whisper'.