Who's next after Angus?

Back in May, when Angus Deayton narrowly avoided the fate that befell him last week, he was at least paid for the humiliation meted out to him by Paul Merton and Ian Hislop. On that occasion, Deayton was allowed to present the show on which his misdemeanours provided red meat for the participants.

He opened proceedings with: "Welcome to the show. This week, the loser is presenting it."

He was proved absolutely right when Merton insisted: "The story I'm interested in, Angus? You and this prostitute. How did you get away without paying her?"

Hislop read from a newspaper report: "He made me groan all night," and asked: "What were you doing – reading the autocue?"

It was merciless stuff, and the implication of Hislop's jibe was no less than the truth: that Deayton was not responsible for devising the honed barbs he launched at others, but merely read from a script. But, although Deayton may have been a mere compere, he played the role allocated to him on Have I Got News for You with ratings-winning skill. In the wake of the moral panic that resulted in his sacking from the show, the producers have yet to identify a suitable substitute.

That was apparent on Friday night. Paul Merton's temporary promotion to presenter proved only that the presenter and team captains are vital to HIGNFY's tried-and-tested formula. It wasn't that Merton looked fazed by his new role. He opened well with: "I don't know if any of you have been reading the newspapers, but I haven't, so you can imagine my surprise when half an hour ago I was asked to host the show." It was simply that Merton in the chair left a gaping vacuum in place of Merton the team captain and, like the remorseless ribbing of Deayton that followed, highlighted the gap in a line-up that viewers enjoy.

The BBC's solution is to wait. It will try out various presenters before making an appointment. Names in the frame include Anne Robinson, who will guest-present this week, the retiring ITN political editor, John Sergeant, the comedian and writer Stephen Fry and the Newsnight veteran Jeremy Paxman.

Fans have other suggestions. The Liberal Democrat MP Lembit Opik says: "Few people can combine wit and political knowledge in the way the show demands. Clive Anderson would do well. So would Greg Proops." Neither is in the frame yet.

The artist Tracey Emin backs Nicholas Parsons. "He's very droll and he'd be good at the banter," she says. "But I wonder how they are going to make sure the next one is cleaner than Angus Deayton. I bet half the BBC does coke. Are they going to quiz potential presenters about their sexual preferences?"

The novelist Robert Harris comes closer to the truth. "I think he's irreplaceable," he comments. "The success of the programme was based around three characters and grew because of the interaction between the three. If you take one away, it won't be the same. I think it is a bit of a wild-goose chase."

One self-appointed candidate, Christine Hamilton, might resent any comparison with winged fowl, but she is predictably certain about the hunt's proper quarry. "Me, of course. It's about time they had a woman there in the middle, instead of Angus. I'd be a breath of fresh air."

Her suggestion is likely to provoke gales of mirth everywhere except the Hamilton household, but it probably deserves more consideration than the Independent columnist Mark Steel's proposal: "Stephen Hawking. The show needs gravitas. Obviously there would be a slight voice problem, but this is the 21st century. I probably would have gone for Sven as well, but that's out now."

BBC sources admit it is "highly unlikely" that a permanent successor will be named before the end of the show's present run in seven weeks' time. By that time it looks increasingly possible that many viewers will agree with Opik, who says: "I don't think Deayton should have been sacked. The whole programme is about scandal and gossip. What should his next move be? Stand for Parliament, I would have thought." Quite, as Deayton might have put it.