IT’S great to see Gareth Malone back on TV and encouraging the UK to stand up and sing.

His latest series on BBC2, The Choir: Gareth’s Best in Britain, chronicles his search to find the most entertaining choir in the land.

As always, the nicely nerdy bespectacled one uses a combination of carrot to coax winning performances out of ordinary people. I don’t think the man has a truly harsh word in him. The clever choirmaster first came onto our screens in 2007. Probably his finest hour was in 2011 with the Military Wives Choir, although later series of creating choirs among firemen, farmers and office workers have proved as entertaining.

It’s not just that people want to sing for him. It’s just that they want to sing. He helps give them confidence and shows them how. His work also reveals that singing in a choir helps people feel better. and improves their quality of life. In fact, it gives them something to sing about.