Amendments were tabled and voted upon, with the battle now going to the Lords. His worry should be that he has been set a trap by his political opponents – as well as his detractors inside his party – in the same way Labour trapped William Hague over the notorious Clause 28.The Adoption Bill started out as a government Bill with all-party support and no mention of gay couples. But Mr Duncan Smith’s first concern for the vulnerable entitles him to be given the benefit of the doubt on the adoption question. It is arguable whether unmarried or same sex couples can provide the loving care to adopted children – although it might have eased Tory tensions if a free vote had been allowed. In fact, it is possible to define a theme and reconciliation between these apparently contradictory approaches.The phrase that sums up his attitude to both issues is “concern for the vulnerable”. Reports of a “row” suggest that there is still unease inside the party – and the Shadow Cabinet – when the dreaded word crops up.
But then the Tory leader went to run-down Hackney yesterday and made a speech on education and public services which once might have tripped off the tongue of the soggiest liberal. But after early chats with the new regime, I think things are going to be a lot easier in future.”With the 20th anniversary approaching this November, he is determined to return the series to the campaigning agenda it was known for in the early days “We’re going back to a content agenda.

NHS and child care – these are the things that engage and worry people in society now. The shorthand explanation is I’m giving up the lesbian-affair-with-the-mother-in-law syndrome. We’ve been there, done that and patented the T-shirt.”The challenge over the next year or so, Redmond says, is “to go into areas that will make people uncomfortable every now and again”, and he is confident that he can take the audiences with him if that is done properly. “You can make television as inane as you want to make it entertain people,” he says, “but you can also do great things with it; you can challenge and contribute to great debates.

There’s been too much titillation over the last three or four years.”Mersey Television’s three shows span the ages: Grange Hill for eight- to 14-year-olds, Hollyoaks, which is the most-watched show by 16-to-24-year-olds, and Brookside for the 24-pluses.Redmond admits he would be keen to work on other new projects, but he is realistic. The Grange Hill commission from the BBC alone is bigger than most independent production companies have on their slate, he says. And commissioning editors like to find new talent, not go back to the old hands.As a man whose shows have nurtured a host of talents, including the core of today’s current soap stars, and Anthony Minghella, who edited scripts for Grange Hill before becoming a film director, Redmond understands that. “It gives me a buzz when I see the names going up all over the place that we gave breaks to – people like Jimmy McGovern, Sue Johnston, Amanda Burton, Ricky Tomlinson.”So rather than yearning after the new, the 52-year-old Phil Redmond seems content to be in a position where he can come up with an idea for one of his shows one day, and have it on screen within six weeks. “I’ve worked hard to be here and it’s a great position to be in,” he says “I don’t lose sight of what a privilege it is.”. My mistakes are too numerous to list in full, but one stands out that still makes me hang my head in shame.

It was when I was working for the Wolverhampton Express and Star, and I wrote a piece about unemployment in Wolverhampton. It was the late 1980s, when unemployment was still pretty severe, and a lot of people were living in wretched conditions. I couldn’t understand it and wrote this irate comment piece about people scrounging benefits. I’d been in Wolverhampton only about a month, and it was unsurpassed right-wing drivel. I suppose it could be intellectually justified, but none the less it was condescending, and I felt afterwards like an Oxbridge graduate who had just arrived and was declaring everyone shirkers.