Columnist of the year

COMEDIAN Robert Webb exits Strictly in week three, not quite leaving the positive message he might have hoped for his fellow heart patients. The Peep Show star, who had open-heart surgery two years ago, made the decision after experiencing symptoms during the gruelling Strictly schedule. Webb, 49, said he was ‘extremely sorry’ to have to leave, adding: ‘It became clear I had bitten off way more than I could chew for this stage in my recovery.’ One can understand the impulse to quickstep back into the ballroom of life after such a near-death experience, but should he even have been there in the first place? The comedian and author was found to have a heart murmur caused by a mitral valve prolapse, which showed up only thanks to a routine medical examination. Since then, he has quit smoking and heavy boozing, but Strictly was a step too far. Now, he says he will concentrate on being an author more than being an actor or a television star. Scant comfort for his dance partner Dianne Buswell, but his health must come first.