Determined as ever to get the last word, Clive James gives his resume of the past 12 months and hands out awards in various categories as the mood takes him. With a mystery location, surprise guest and production numbers of mind-bending complexity, he builds up to the announcement of the Man and Woman of the Year. "We start working on the New Year's show in August, two days a week every week right through to the end of the year, " says James. "It's the hardest show we do, but if you do it right, it looks easy. That's the frustrating thing! It looks as if we just go into the studio and make it up." This year James is assisted by Louise Lombard (Evie in The House of Elliot). " We get a lot of criticism for choosing beautiful female assistants," he says. "Year after year, people come up and say, 'I really disapproved of that,' but it turns out they watched the whole thing. Presumably just so they could disapprove of it."