Martin Bell - Pandora The Independent June

With the House of Commons sinking lower each day in the public's estimation, Martin Bell appears very much man of the moment. The former BBC journalist - who turned sleaze-busting MP in 1997 - has become the panel show guest du jour, clocking up appearances on Question Time, The One Show and Channel 4's The TV Show to name but a few.

Now we hear that the "man in the white suit" has got himself star billing at Clive Conway Celebrity Productions with a two-month long tour of summer speaking engagements.

Described as "An Audience With Martin Bell", the sessions are to be half prepared speech, half question- and-answer.

"Summer is usually quieter but the theatre booker has had lots of interest in Martin, and it sounds like there could be more dates announced for the autumn," explains a spokesman.

Intriguingly, Bell, who will be 71 by the time of the next election, recently refused to rule out the possibility of running for Parliament in Hazel Blears's Salford constituency. Could this be the unofficial start of his campaign? We wonder?