When Gary met Diego

Last night on returning from amateur drama commitments (a particularly hectic dress rehearsal) I caught the last five minutes of a BBC documentary on the fallen idol of football Diego Maradona. I joined the action when all-round nice guy Gary Lineker was in the VIP box with Maradona at a club match in Argentina. Lineker using his best textbook Spanish, presumably learnt during his time at Barcelona was engaging in banter with Maradona. Maradona gets hysterical at one point and with the pair are getting increasingly touchy-feely. Gary calls him crazy - "¡Estas loco!" - and Diego responds with a hug. So now the squeaky clean presenter knows what it's like to being touched by the hand of God. This latest chapter in Anglo-Argentine relations comes after a long and troubled history, but it seems like they hit it off on this occasion.

As the end credits role we hear the voice of Lineker giving some sermon about a man who has had a second chance in life and grabbing it with both hands. For a while it did look like Maradona was set to slide down the slippery slope on his way to becoming another George Best, but for the moment it looks like he's manged to apply the brakes half-way down.