Tony Robinson, who has been described as "the love child of Simon Schama, Alastair Campbell and Eddie Izzard", has a cunning plan. He aims to tour the UK in a show looking back on his 40 years in showbiz. The actor best known as Baldrick says the show will answer the question: "How did a man who made his name as a stinking, turnip-loving simpleton crawling through the trenches with Rowan Atkinson in Blackadder hit the big time by grubbing around in the mud, alongside men with dubious fashion sense in Time Team, before achieving superstar status by rolling up his trousers to wade through urine in The Worst Jobs in History?"

THE 10 SERVICEMEN killed in the RAF Hercules crash which caused the single largest loss of life suffered by British forces in Iraq were yesterday named by the Ministry of Defence.

One Couple's Property Story

MORE THAN one million customers of the Nationwide were left stranded for more than five hours yesterday after a worn out fuse led to the shut down of the building society's entire computer system.

GOLLINS: Frank, died at home, naturally, aged 89. Family funeral on 30 September at 12.30pm at Kingsdown Crematorium, Swindon. A celebration of his life to be arranged early in the next fishing season. No flowers. Donations to Fairford Hospital League of Friends c/o Cowley & Son Ltd, Triangle House, 62 Victoria Road, Cirencester, Gloucestershire GL7 1ES. Telephone 01285 653298.

WHEN CYRIL Bowles, as Bishop of Derby, spoke in favour of the ordination of women at the 1978 Lambeth Conference, one member reported that "he wove a golden cord round the Anglican Communion, binding all the Bishops together". That was typical of the man whose gift it was to reconcile opposing views by his measured, temperate eloquence.

A COSTLY court battle between Barclays the high street bank and Nationwide, Britain's biggest building society, over charges was narrowly averted yesterday when Barclays agreed to drop plans to charge other banks' customers for using its 3,200 cash machines.

JACK STRAW yesterday defended his controversial remarks about travellers, insisting that "not one word" of his comments had been unwise.

MARK JAMES last night revealed that he has delayed his decision on whether to give up the Ryder Cup captaincy in order to play in the European team in September.

THE DRUMMER Kevin Wilkinson was at the height of his career at the time of his death.

THEY WILL never believe it down Kingsholm way; or rather, they will not believe it until they turn up at Kingsholm and find a supermarket where the most celebrated of all English club rugby grounds used to be. Tom Walkinshaw, the motor racing magnate who now owns 98 per cent of Gloucester RFC following his latest buy-up of shares, went out of his way yesterday to reassure the Cherry and White faithful that he had no immediate desire to knock their world off its axis, but he remains serious about uprooting the city's pride and joy if commercial reality so demands.

A MAN faces a possible driving ban after he was found guilty of being drunk while in control of a motorised skateboard.