MPs find Paxo a pussycat but Dimbleby is dreaded

Politicians are far more frightened of appearing on the BBC's Question Time TV programme than being interrogated by Jeremy Paxman, a radio show reveals.

In How To Beat Jeremy Paxman, past and present Cabinet members give their tips for facing the famously tough Newsnight presenter. But the show's producer, Richard Vadon, who has made a follow-up programme about Question Time and Any Questions, said most of the politicians he spoke to welcomed the chance to be interviewed by Paxman.

In contrast, politicians and members of the current Cabinet in particular, will go out of their way to avoid appearing on Question Time, where they face the combined hostility of fellow panel members, presenter David Dimbleby and the audience. "Most of the Cabinet members had much more of a problem with Question Time than with Paxman," Mr Vadon said.

"A recent former member of the Cabinet told me that [on Question Time] you never get the opportunity to deal with anything anyone has said to you.

"In an interview, you get to put across your position. Some people argued that Paxman giving you such a tough time is a good opportunity to put your ideas across. Frank Dobson said his advice to a young colleague about Question Time would be don't go on it.

"Ann Widdecombe talks about how when she went on in the last years of the Major government, even when she sat down, people were booing."

In How To Beat Jeremy Paxman, to be broadcast on Radio 4 tomorrow night, Michael Howard talks about the infamous Newsnight interview in which Paxman asked him the same question 12 times - although it has gone down in legend as 14 repetitions.

"His technique is to treat it all as entertainment and start off with a question that's designed to wrong foot and embarrass the person he's interviewing," Mr Howard said.