So the good news is that The Wright Way will not be coming back. Shane Allen, the BBC's Comedy head honcho has confirmed that there will be no second series of Ben Elton's risible, dated Health & Safety so-called sitcom.

There was an interesting suggestion however, that it was not a failure in the ratings department that caused its demise but the vitriolic response to the series on Twitter from Elton-haters. Shane Allen told the Broadcasting Press Guild that "Ben Elton was really bruised by the reception. He felt ‘If people aren't loving this I am not going to put myself through it again’.” Which kind of fudges one aspect of the issue. Was The Wright Way pushed or did Ben Elton jump?

What I'm more concerned about here, however, is the power of Twitter. Theatre Critic Frank Rich used to be called the Butcher of Broadway because a bad review from Rich in the New York Times had the power to close a new production. I'm now wondering if Twitter's mob mentality has the same sort of power. When The Wright Way first went out my feed was clogged up with a barrage of attacks on the show in general and on Elton in particular.

Now this is all very well when one is in agreement with the consensus. But this potential leverage is scary. When the first episode of Count Arthur Strong was broadcast on Monday social media was split. In fact two people who tweeted me directly in quick succession highlighted this dichotomy. One, who clearly didn't like the show, criticised me having the temerity to mention Count Arthur in the same sentence as the magisterial Seinfeld. The other tweeted to say what a relief it was that the TV version of radio show lived up to high expectations.

So depending on who one follows on Twitter one could either be seeing rave reviews of Count Arthur or downturned thumbs. It will be interesting to see which way the Tweetometer swings over the next few weeks. I suspect it will be a general thumbs up, because people who don't like it will largely just drift away and lose interest, whereas with Elton, a generation of Tweeters who grew up on Blackadder felt a sense of betrayal when they saw The Wright Way. In fairness , of course, many had possibly felt a sense of betrayal regarding Elton for much of the last decade.

The power of Twitter should not be underestimated. Political columnist Steve Richards mentioned in his recent show that politicians are obsessed with Twitter, so I'm sure that TV bosses are equally hooked on social media. It gives them instant feedback when they are deciding what to axe and what to re-commission.

It is amazing that people who have got into a position of power thanks to their own good judgement then end up relying on what other people think. But then maybe it has always been this way. There is an old showbiz anecdote that illustrates this. When Peter Sellers was unknown he rang a BBC producer and put on a fake voice recommending a young unknown comedian called..."Peter Sellers". This helped to lodge the name in the producer's mind. So when Peter Sellers rang up as himself the producer thought he'd better snap him up as he was clearly the man of the moment. The Wright Way should have been axed because it was objectively truly terrible, not because of Twitter. Yet maybe Twitter seems to be the modern equivalent of influencing people by standing in a phone box on Tottenham Court Road putting on funny voices.

While The Wright Way was still being transmitted I was asked to take part in a newspaper debate about whether comedians lose their touch as they get older. I argued that they do lose it at some point, usually in middle age, citing Elton as a prime example. On reflection I'm not sure if I was correct. I think Elton may have lost it because he has become rich and out of touch, not because he has hit his half century. The Wright Way was his chance to prove the critics and cynics wrong. Instead he proved them right.

There is, however, a chilling coda to this story. At the same Broadcasting Press Guild that it was confirmed that we had seen the last of The Wright Way Shane Allen also said "I’d give him (Elton) another chance on something else if it felt right and was compelling.” I can just imagine Twitter imploding if that happens…