IS the era of political correctness nearly played out?

That is the question that is being asked in a programme on the BBC's Yorkshire and Lincolnshire region on Friday (7.30pm) - with the help of Slaithwaite Punch and Judy man Les Clarke.

Les himself (a former graphic designer at the Examiner) won't actually be appearing in the Inside Out programme - but his Mr Punch has a vital link role on his TV debut.

Producer Andy Joynson, answering the question of why they needed Les's Mr Punch admits: "Basically it boils down to the fact that this is a story about words and the way we use them - which is lacking in pictures for TV! So how do you illustrate it - use a Punch & Judy show!"

Certainly it is hard to think of anything making less concession to politically correctness than this show which has such a long history.

Les, who is an authority on the subject, says that Punch first came to this country shortly after Britain stopped being a republic and welcomed back the monarchy in the 17th century.

Since then he has survived two world wars and seen off the threat of both Napoleon and Hitler so the little matter of political correctness is comparatively little to worry about.

It is probably very appropriate that the matter should be aired on Yorkshire area television. For the PC approach was always at odds with our region's traditional blunt method of speaking.

Of course, the BBC could not be seen to be taking sides in this issue - it wouldn't be PC! - so they decided to bring along Rick Wakeman, rock star celebrity and grumpy old man of TV, to put into words what the BBC itself could not possibly say.

And his friend Mr Punch to help as they hopped from one part of the topic to another.

Phillip Davies, the Conservative MP for Shipley who has become the unofficial opposition spokesperson for banging the drum about Political Correctness, says: "When I worked for Asda before I went into politics, a customer rang us up and accused us of being racist to Irish people because we sold thick Irish sausages ."

He also cites the difficulties in Peter Jackson re-making the film Dam Busters because pilot Guy Gibson's faithful black Labrador dog - a key part of the story - was called Nigger.

That's a point that many would be unhappy about today but Clr Ralph Toofani, the only black former Mayor of Lincoln, for one says that basically he thinks that any new Dambusters film ought to stay faithful to the original story.

One of the most celebrated cases came when the famous Black Dyke Mills Band were giving a concert at the Carnegie Hall in New York.

For fear of simultaneously offending both the race and the gay lobbies in the United States it was seriously suggested that the band rename themselves the British Brass Band just for this one concert.

The band said no and the concert went ahead anyway.

Still on the same subject, you may laugh but, the programme says, Lincolnshire police no longer talk about "dykes" - they are now "water-filled roadside ditches".

Local councils often just make themselves look silly in some of their stranger efforts to avoid causing offence. Like when Richmondshire considered banning staff from sending age-related birthday cards.

But Hull City council seem to be the region's uncrowned champions of the PC gaff, banning the word "ladies" along with traditional northern greetings like "pet", "love", "duck", and "flower".

No, they decided that the word for "women" was "women" and "older people" are just that , not "senior citizens" or "wrinklies"...

Best (or worst) of all, they renamed composer Aaron Copeland's magnificent Fanfare for the Common Man as for the Common Person.

When the Hull council refused to provide a spokesman/woman/person for their point of view, the programme decided on a neat variety of the tub of lard with which another programme, Have I Got News For You, once famously replaced Labour politician Roy (now Lord) Hattersley.

They got Les Clarke to provide the head of a ventriloquist's dummy to mouth their statements.

Both Les and producer Andy were clear that they had a hoot of a time making the programme.

Will it prove to be the one that laughs us out of the era of political correctness? We shall see. But Les, for one, thinks this particular PC world is on the way out.