Would certainly be one of my dinner party guests (along with Sir David Attenborough, Boris Johnson, Mary Beard and Placido Domingo-very eclectic I know) Think his intelligence can put off some people who confuse this with smugness (IMO)
I have never read about him, nor would I. He was ok in the Blackadder Series but since then seems to be believing his own publicity.
Each to their own I suppose.
I like him when he isn’t scripted, he can be so off the wall it’s scary! Though did enjoy his take on America when he travelled across it in his black taxi. He soaks information up like a sponge, and I think I have read somewhere that he has instant recall for everything he reads, but don’t quote me?! He has one of those voices I could listen to forever; if he doesn’t already, he should do some audio books.
I have no time for the man, either as a pundit or as an actor. In the latter, he does that thing of bobbing forward every time he has to speak - which is not the sign of a great actor.