An Education

"I haven't seen it" - Mark Kermode, BBC Radio 5live

Very well-received British film, based on journalist Lynn Barber's memoir, about a teenage girl's affair with an older man. Simon Mayo immediately clocked that the gentleman in question (played by Peter Sarsgaard) might be up to no good on the grounds that he looked like Ed Balls.

An Education became something of a running joke because, despite the near universal praise for it, Mark Kermode failed to see it (the press screenings were at around the time he had swine flu) and found himself unable to make the time to catch up. Each week, the film popped up in the Box Office Top 10 and each week Mark had to admit that no, he'd still not seen it, and therefore could not review it; he could not even confirm or deny the accuracy of Simon's satirical observation.

The joke continued because the film enjoyed a prolonged run in the top 10, with listeners offering all sorts of incentives to finally get Mark to watch it.