I EXPECTED great things from the first of two nights with Derek Acorah - not least because the theatre was billed as a total sell-out.

We managed to arrive on time, collect our tickets and still be in our seats for the start of the show, unlike a huge number of latecomers who insisted on not only claiming their rightful seats, but succeeded in holding a conversation throughout the delicate manoeuvre of pushing past others at high speed.

Why do all latecomers have seats in the centre of a row? It used to be courtesy to wait until there was a suitable moment during applause to enter discreetly, but last night we counted more than 100 people disrupting the show.

Derek Acorah is quite a TV personality and one of the stars of Most Haunted - a ghost-busting type show on Satellite TV.

I confess to never having seen the show, but still I went with an open mind, expecting a show in a similar vein to Colin Fry and Tony Stockwell. Oh boy, was I wrong. Derek Acorah was so rude and arrogant to the audience that I was surprised that people did not just walk out.

The main problem seemed to be that nobody "claimed" his spirit guests. The great plan is that a Spirit talks to Acorah, either directly or through his "guide" Sam, and then anyone recognising the name and identity can put their hand up and talk through a roving microphone to the stage.

However, very few of the messages seemed to relate to anyone at all, and quite frankly, even if I had felt a connection, I'm sure I wouldn't have subjected myself to the ridicule and rudeness of the medium on stage. The whole show was cringingly off the mark and much of the time was just plain boring and pointless.

Updated: 12:54 Friday, December 10, 2004