ON a day of royalty, how suitable that the Clown Prince should reinstate his majesty.

As 'Top Ten: Football Songs' (Channel 4) reminded us, tragically Paul Gascoigne's single 'Fog on the Tyne' only made it to number two in the charts, but yesterday he returned to his rightful place at number one.

In the morning, a repeated 'Parkinson' (BBC1) had shown an interview with Gary Lineker in which he recalled a bus journey with Gazza in the early 1990s.

Gascoigne managed to convince the driver to go out of his route to drop the two of them off at their chosen destination, before rallying a chorus of 'Summer Holiday' amongst the rest of the passengers.

It made you wonder why he has looked so stunted in the ITV studio - was the reason he used to stick his tongue out during the national anthem because it kept on getting tied in his mouth?

But I was pleased to see him as a roving reporter yesterday afternoon, asking the people about all things to do with England.

Gazza belongs with his public, talking to joggers and kids and reminded us that his sharp wit and banter is very much alive.

And the killer line of his chart success came to mind: 'This Geordie boy's gonna be alright'.