You have probably heard enough about the absence of ethnic minority characters from ITV detective series Midsomer Murders.

But it prompted Howard Jacobson in his weekend Indie column to wonder why there are no Jewish folk on Coronation Street.

They had featured once he thought, adding "though as I recall they were all in the shmatte business and made shmatte business noises and did shmatte business things with their hands".

However, our in-house students of soap believe that the Booker Laureate's memory has played him false and no Jew has ever set foot in the street, despite the odd "schmooze" slipping from a resident's lips.

Not that Jacobson would care much either way since he prefers Jews not to be reflected in such "lower forms of representation" as Corrie or Midsomers.

Goodness knows what he would think about Friday Night Dinner getting a second series.