'Our next Prime Minister'. Even the programme title jarred. Many must have thought, well I don't have a vote, he won't be my Prime Minister.

For one hour in a show of rambling incoherence Boris, Jeremy, Michael, Sajid and Rory played to type for this kind of broadcast.

The questioners were thanked for the prescience of their concerns, patronised as standard by politicians eager to establish their men-of-the-world status.

Boris had a Muslim great-grandfather, Jeremy's wife is Chinese, Rory served in Iraq, Sajid's father came from Pakistan. When politicians try to over-connect the insincerity becomes palpable as does the irritation of those watching.

The format simply did not work, a throwback to the days of Nationwide as we visited Norwich, Tunbridge Wells, Belfast, and Glasgow in search of the killer question. It all felt contrived, a nod to the people having their say when in fact they were mere prompts for the cut and thrust.

The normally excellent Emily Maitlis failed to impose any order from the outset. What followed was a mess of the mostly Eton variety.

Mr Johnson (no self-respecting journalist should continually refer to him as Boris) could have recited everything from his big fat book of gaffes and it would have mattered little. He is so far ahead that even his Trump-lite bent is unlikely to derail his campaign.

The collective pronouncements on Brexit were meaningless as they pitched at nuance in a debate defined by polar opposites. It was all crossfire from a parallel universe. No-one seems to have told them the withdrawal agreement isn't up for re-negotiation nor will the Irish backstop provisions be removed.

The most worrying section was on tax, as slogans were presented as policy, casual remarks committed the government to spending billions in a display of how not to do grown-up politics.

The overly earnest Rory Stewart pointed out that cutting taxes and spending more on public services simply wasn't an option. The casualness with which pronouncements were made was enough to have an Institute for Fiscal Studies economist phoning the men in white coats on their behalf.

This programme provided no public service at all not least because the public are excluded from the process.

Tonight, sees another vote in the slow process on the road to the Johnson premiership. And then, the crisis. Having written EU departure on October 31 in his own blood, parliament might still take control and Mr Johnson will be left in exactly the same position as one T May.