Fern Britton

Fern Britton (Radio 2), sitting in for Jeremy Vine, has a standard, flawed greeting for callers. "Good morning," she says brightly, on a show that starts at midday. By yesterday she acknowledged the mistake, laughing at a habit formed over all those This Morning mornings. The invasion of radio by household names continues apace: Richard Madeley is sitting in for Zoe Ball on Radio 2, and Ronan Keating launched his Sunday show on Magic this week. I don't mind as long as the presenters are competent, and Britton certainly is that. She has a clear, calm voice and does empathy rather well, especially on stories such as packed-lunch boxes and school closures where she can draw on her experiences as a mother. I liked how she comforted a young mother who worried she'd missed key stages in her baby's development as she rigidly followed the Gina Ford regime. "Most parents can't remember those things," Britton told the woman kindly. There's still a bit of a jolt when it comes to the music, though, and Britton is uneasy when callers ramble on. Finding a way to curtail things without saying "we have to move on", as Britton did yesterday, is a key skill on such shows, and lies at the heart of sympathetic phone-ins like these.