A good cad is easier to find – and much more fun – than a good gentleman

Country Life’s ‘Gentleman of the Year’ awards were announced last week, and contrary to the bookies’ expectations, David Beckham has finished in second place. The winner, their panel decided, was another David. David Dimbleby, in fact, for being: ‘an anchor in every sense of the world’ and ‘holding the nation steady when the water gets choppy’.

But is either of those Davids really worth of the title? Country Life’s judges have, apparently, decided that tattoos are allowed, since in the 19th century ‘it was quite a gentlemanly thing to do’. I’m not sure everyone will agree with their decision, particularly Sarah Vine, who recently compared tattoos to ‘a form of self-harm’. But I wouldn’t dare to quibble with Country Life’s panel.

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One thing that Harry Cole and I found when we debated the ‘return of the cad’ (and whether this was a good or a bad thing), was just how hard it was to find a ‘true’ gentleman.