In January 2008, Jeremy Paxman wrote an angry letter to then Marks and Spencer boss Sir Stuart Rose about the state of his pants. They were letting him down. The Newsnight presenter said: “I’ve noticed that something very troubling has happened. There’s no other way to put this. The pants no longer provide adequate support. When I’ve discussed this with friends and acquaintances it has revealed widespread gusset anxiety.”
This was funny, but Paxman meant it. His complaint resonated with large sections of the population who had grown up thinking of M&S as a staple of the high street and had lately found it disappointing.
