'Russell Brand winked at me in the street once', begins Howard Jacobson.

He reflects on that chance encounter many years ago and the dishonourable role we all play in the creation of celebrity.

'We watched too much television; we rubbed the lamp and set the extremely egregious genie free; we saw a blank slate and wrote the words ourselves.'

Producer: Adele Armstrong Sound: Peter Bosher Production coordinator: Gemma Ashman Editor: China Collins