Hurry up and settle down

TV producers need to understand there's a fine line between increasing the tension on a show and increasing my blood pressure.

I'm beginning to worry about the number of times I've shouted "just get on with it!" at my TV set.

Shane Richie has been one of the worst offenders while hosting Sky One's Don't Forget The Lyrics.

He'll say: "So you think the correct lyrics for Dancing Queen should be 'young and sweet only 17'. Let's see if you're right."
Then he and the contestant will stare at the giant screen for several weeks before the results were revealed.

Stop dragging it out, it's really not entertaining!

Last Choir Standing, good as it is, is also full of too many frustrating pauses while we wait....and wait...and wait...for the results.

And while we're on the subject of petty annoyances, why can't the camera operators on Dragon's Den keep still? Are they all very fidgety or suffering from epilepsy?

I'm sure it never used to be this bad. There was a time when people were filmed in focus and in a shot that lasted longer than five seconds.

But directors obviously thought that was far too boring. So now we get people suddenly going out of focus, or only half their face appearing in the shot. Just when the camera seems to have settled down, it abruptly lurches off to one side or zooms in and out.

Some may call that arty and interesting, I call it annoyingly distracting.

Dragon's Den is not as bad as the shaky hand-held camera work in some shows that induces motion sickness, but it doesn't need these tricks. The cringeworthy pitches, sarcastic responses from Duncan Bannatyne and financial negotiations should be gripping enough without these irksome stunts.