The Dame Edna Treatment: RIP

Once the funniest act on the planet, now the Vesuvius of comedy, with tourists gawping at a dead-looking heap as they channel hop, Dame Edna Everage is a sad Saturday spectacle. Regrettably, the tabloids haven't cottoned-on yet because TV journalists rarely watch telly beyond the video previews, they just drink and plan their get-outs and scroll Nexis for a quote. The cutting edge passed with mute Madge, the all-purpose possums are legs up. The gay glads - nah, they wilted long ago. Norm - we... - no, I can't go on, I loved Edna too much. Her daughter Valmai is no substitute. The celebrity guests, like the tabloid hacks, are in a cultural lag, still thinking of the glory days when just sitting there as Edna's stooge could revive a career or launder out the stain of self-importance. Now, to be at Edna's spa, is a sure sign that agents must be sacked and careers re-appraised. If Madonna ever appears on the show be certain she's finally lost it.