Would I Lie to You? Yes, if you call this comedy

For years, the comedy panel show was largely ignored by the mainstream channels. Year in, year out, Have I Got News For You? commanded cult status on BBC 2, but took the thick end of a decade to switch to BBC 1.

Then, on the back of the success of They Think It's All Over, it switched across and gained a new lease of life on the back of Angus Deayton's cocaine-fuelled antics which led to the creation of the "guest presenter" role following the dismissal of the autocue-monkey on the back of said allegations.

Since then, however, a light seems to have gone on above the heads of TV schedulers who, when faced with a blank half hour in the week, quickly devise a quick panel show.

Up until now, they've all been a success: QI with Stephen Fry, the continued success of Never Mind The Buzzcocks, the surreal Newsknight with Sir Trevor on ITV, the under-rated Eight out of Ten Cats over on Channel 4 and, of course, the incredibly amusing Mock The Week.

Then the BBC serves up Would I Lie To You? Series one sat quite late at night, I seem to remember, but the current series occupies the absolute primetime BBC 1, Friday, 9pm, slot. And, it's proved that all good things must come to an end. It's also proved it is possible to create a crap panel show. And it's also proved that having a good script isn't enough to get a good show.

The premise is simple. Two teams of three, pitched against either to try and fool the other into believing statements which are false are true and vice versa. On the teams, as with HIGNFY and 8 out of 10, it mixes comedians with other celebrities.

But the problem is this: The jokes are there, they just aren't funny. At best, they aren't as funny as on HIGNFY, 8 out of 10 or Mock the Week. It feels so contrived. Angus Deayton is the host and his return to this role serves to show how much quiz shows have moved on.

At one point on Friday, following a clip in which Elton John talked about being married, Deayton quipeed: "At the time, he was so far in the closet he was making regular trips to Narnia." Witty, but not off-the-cuff. In fact, it was off-the-autocue.

When Chris Moyles appeared on 8 out of 10, it wasn't because Jimmy Carr as host had some funny footage to play of Chris. When Richard Wilson, as in Victor Meldrew, appeared on WILTY? it seemed at first a refreshing change, someone different to the usual roster of panel show guests. Wrong. He was there because they had funny footage of him presenting a learn to dance video. And that's it.

This week's was a tad better - Michael Aspel was good fun, Davina McCall enjoyed herself, Lee Mack and David Mitchell - the team captains - sparred well against one another and so. But Mack and Mitchell, great as they are as comedians, are no Merton v Hislop. And the presence of Dara O'Briain and Jason Manford as the other two guests was simply a reminder of the better panel shows out there.

O'Briain is proof of how far the role of presenter of these shows has come in recent years. It's not enough to simply read a script, you have to respond, react, interact - as the best guest hosts on HIGNFY do now. Deayton, it has to be said, does not.

Manford, meanwhile is a reminder of 8 out of 10, a panel show built around a simple format, but one which works. It provides those taking part with material to go at, options to joke about. WILTY gives you a choice: true of false. And that's it. Ad lib optional, but don't worry, because there is a script.

Make no bones about it, Would I Lie To You? is proof that panel gameshows can fail. This is a programme which should be shown straight after Casualty - it's already in the kind of place people find themselves after too much of a good thing.

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