I think I am a little bit in love with Ian Hislop

[SleeplessinSouthwold]

I mean, fearlessly slaying BS for Britain since forever, or what!
No one's too scary, too rich, too big or too pompous for Ian. He has encyclopaedic recall and is quicker and wittier than anybody. (His cute little shaky-shoulders laugh!)

Not an obvious crush, maybe, but when watching IHGNFY of a wintry night, next to a more classically handsome and averagely entertaining DH, I catch myself musing about what could clearly never have been. Reminiscing about being young and dismissing a lovely chap or two because their looks were a little unusual. My loss, probably. It's not always the obvious ones. Somebody knew the decent, intelligent thing to do and married him - Victoria Hislop - the clever clogs! Can she ever be bored? Surely not?

So Ian Hislop: the (moderately, in my case) Thinking Woman's Crumpet?

Can you think of people that - with hindsight - you wished you'd given more of a chance?

Disclaimer(s): I have never met Ian Hislop in RL. But I wish I had. DH and I are doing fine. I am no great catch myself.

Oh Ian Hislop is my secret crush too, I second everything you’ve said above, you’ve really captured him. Swoon!

Yep, I'm with you OP. I think he's fab.

Actually, OH does too
😂

Totally theThinking Woman’s Crumpet, but I think the admiration is quite widespread.

I third that as there's just something about him.
Though he's 5th in line after Robert Downey Junior, Mark Ruffalo, Daniel Craig & Robert Carlyle

I don't fancy him but I'd love him to be in my family. He is spot on in cutting through politicians bollocks behaviour.

Be a nightmare to have an argument with though.

You know you'd never win over whose turn it was to do the dishes.

I have never met Ian Hislop in RL.

I've stood next to him on a Ryanair transfer bus. Does that count?

Can you imagine the things he knows! Ian and I would sit in bed, eating breakfast, reading the papers and I’d just listen to him telling me the real background!

I hate to be the voice of dissent and I say this as someone who read Private Eye for many years, admired him and thoroughly enjoyed hearing him over the years (far too many years as I am as old as he is so remember his rise to fame). I think he always had a great balance of the savage and the funny in his commentary but recently feel the savage is becoming more prominent and the funny less so.
I hope it is temporary and he gets back to being as funny as he used to be.

Ok, so I though it was a little bit exclusive between Ian and I. I hope there aren't too many of you lot who think he's adorable.

@LeMoo Good point, that'd be goodbye to winning any argument ever, I guess.

@FurryDandelionSeekingMissile Oh yes it does, in my books. He smells surprisingly divine, I expect?

@GoldIsMyBirthMetal Hello? I saw him first?

Don't really watch it nowadays but I did enjoy the thorough monstering he bestowed upon that hypocritical little shit Gary Neville recently 🤣🤣🤣

I'm afraid I didn't lean in for a sniff. Remiss of me.

I adore him. Love private eye too. HIGNFY on the other hand is almost unwatchably bad these days.

Wasn't that marvellous!!

I too love Ian ❤️

That was quite spectacular.

And he was a crap host, anyhow.

I think so too. Bitter old Ian. Drinks too much too.

After that many years of slaying the dragon of stupidity and hypocrisy, perhaps our Ian is getting a tad grated as it keeps rearing its ugly head again and again and nothing ever changes? He must know so much, it's not a good sign for us if he's grumpy.
Rather hoping that it's just Victoria starting to get on his nerves.

Don't fancy him but I am a big fan. @SleeplessinSouthwold this is for you.

Thank you@HerReputationMadeItDifficultToProceed
Bit of a legend, our Ian is!

I love Ian Hislop too. It feels like he's someone we can trust to tell us the truth.

I also like Richard Ayoade a lot on HIGNIFY. He's very sharp and can be cutting underneath the blundering harmless geek persona. He's gorgeous too.

Nope. I married the smart guy who wasn’t good looking. A decade later I just want to shag someone sexy even if he has no brains.

But would you want to spend your life with No Brains, though?

We ended up on the same holiday as him, a week in an all-inclusive sports/beach camp in Greece, about 15 years ago. He was lovely, always smiled and said hello if you passed him on the boardwalk between the villas, stood in a queue for his icecream (as you should of course however famous) and didn't act the least bit like a celeb.
At the time he'd been learning to play bridge and was asking around for people to make up a four in the bar. DS was chewing his arm off with frustration as he worshipped IH at the time and would have gladly spent the previous year studying bridge in order to have had the experience of playing with him.
Victoria spent the week under an enormous black straw sunhat, buried in her book and studiously avoiding meeting anyone's eye.

I agree. I think he comes across quite pompous now.

I have an in law very like him in personality he's not that pleasant to be around irl.

Thought he was especially on form here, OP: