Just two days until the MediaGuardian Edinburgh International Television Festival starts, Monkey can hardly wait. The gossip, the intrigue, the liver failure. And the question that has really got tongues wagging – will Mark Thompson shave off his beard? Edinburgh veterans will remember he grew one just before his previous MacTaggart lecture in 2002 and it became one of the most talked about topics of the festival. At the time an expert psychologist said it "was a subconscious bid to reinforce his individuality". Shaving it off would surely reinforce how many cuts the BBC is making. And it might just distract people from asking when he will step down as director general or talking about the BBC pension crisis.
