You would think there would have been nothing in Rod Stewart’s ITV show last Saturday night to affront specifically Jewish ears. But an alert watcher from Edgware has found cause for complaint. Mr Stewart’s repertoire included Love Train, sung by the O’Jays in the 1970s.

According to the original lyrics, among those invited on board said train are“folks in Russia and China” and “folks in Egypt and Israel”, too.

But when the throaty crooner came to sing it last weekend, the poor folks on Israel got left out. Asked to explain the omission, an ITV spokeschap said: “In singing the second verse of Love Train, Rod sang the words ‘Egypt and China’ instead of ‘Egypt and Israel’. As this was a live performance and China is in the same place in the first verse, Rod had moved the words.”

I think that means he mixed up the lyrics.