Oi, Just a minute! Stop having a go at Wolverhampton

And they found their home city in the spotlight yet again after Wolverhampton was chosen as the unlikely topic for discussion on BBC Radio 4's long-running quiz show Just A Minute.

This time it was the turn of 'comedian' Graham Norton to wade in with a string of barbed comments.

You remember Graham; he was good in one episode of Father Ted back in the 1990s – and has since been handed a shedload of our money by the BBC for a late-night chat show that not many people watch.

Not that we're bitter (!)

The 'funnyman', who admitted he had never visited the city, described it as "a grey hole" he would not be able to identify on a map, adding that the football team were called Wanderers . . . because they liked to get away from the city as often as possible.

Boom. Boom. Laughing along yet?

Nope, me neither.

Wolverhampton's deputy mayor today described Norton's comments as "rubbish", saying they did not reflect most people's perceptions of the area.

Norton let rip after he was asked by quizmaster Nicholas Parsons to speak for one minute, without hesitation or repetition, on the subject of "November in Wolverhampton". As the audience erupted into fits of laughter, panellist Sue Perkins gasped "who thought of that?".

By way of introduction former Sale of the Century host Parsons spoke warmly of the city, declaring it to be a "wonderful place" and said he had many happy memories of the Grand Theatre.

But Norton replied: "Wolverhampton in November I imagine is quite similar to Wolverhampton at any other time of the year.

"Even the football team are called Wanderers because they don't want to be there, they long for the away games.

"A grey, nondescript hole, somewhere in Britain, I couldn't find it on a map," he continued, before being interrupted by fellow panellist and well-known internet show-off Jason Manford.

Maybe we're being tough on Jason, who actually leapt to the city's defence, sort of.

He claimed Wolverhampton had once been city of culture, and thought the comedian's comments were "a bit harsh", Norton responded: "I've never been there, I don't know."

Norton then said he planned to bring his next tour to Wolverhampton, and said he had a house in the city, prompting Great British Bake-Off's Sue Perkins to respond: "You have a mansion there don't you, in Dudley?"

Yes, the Sue Perkins. Hard to describe her as a comedian. Or even vaguely likeable.

Irritating, sneering and unfunny; she's another BBC luvvie who pops up on shows like this and has made a career out of never having anything witty to say.

But she's probably big in Islington so the licence fee dosh keeps rolling in.

Nice work if you can get it, sister.

Cue Wolverhampton's deputy mayor Councillor Milkinder Jaspal to launch a staunch defence in the wake of Norton's onslaught.

"I can't understand people who are talking about a place they have never been to, and they make these ridiculous comments.

"I travel a lot around the world, and wherever I go, when I mention Wolverhampton people talk about the football club. When I go to America and India, people say Wolverhampton?

That's the home of Billy Wright, they remember it for that, even though it was such a long time ago.

"I moved here when I was five, and I would never want to live anywhere else."

It comes after the Lonely Planet travel guide infamously dubbed Wolverhampton the fifth worst city in the world in 2009, before publishing a slightly more favourable verdict two years later.

The latest slur is not the first time that Wolverhampton has been portrayed in a less-than-flattering light on the BBC.

In January 1988 the BBC received complaints from Wolverhampton Council's then chief executive Michael Lyons following comments made by Brummie comic Jasper Carrott, and by a character in the popular detective drama Bergerac.

Bergerac's producer George Gallacio apologised after one of the characters in an episode told her son he was destined to "spend the rest of his life in a Wolverhampton council house.''

Later the same month, Jasper Carrott sparked controversy in Carrott Confidential with a sketch based around "A weekend's donkey trekking in Wolverhampton."

Good job we've got a good sense of humour, ay it?

Tell us what you think about Just a Minute's Wolverhampton discussion in the comments below: