IT was sad to see that the country’s best-known film critic Barry Norman has died at the age of 83.

He not only brought his own bright and breezy brand of TV presentation to programmes in the 1970s onwards but also helped enlighten us about the world of film and its stars.

As well as being remarkably erudite and knowledgeable about films, he refused to be over-awed by the often diva-like celebrities he regularly interviewed.

He called Arnold Schwarzenegger “an ass” and “a humourless, self-satisfied clod”. He almost came to blows with Robert de Niro and refused to interview Madonna when she turned up an hour and 40 minutes late.

Contrast this straightforward style with the often obsequious interviewing techniques of many of today’s TV presenters and you start to appreciate the honesty and integrity of Norman.

I interviewed him once and found him to be impressive if a bit spiky. Bizarrely, he had just launched his own range of bottled pickled onions and really wanted to talk about that!