THE newspaper review on The Andrew Marr Show is one of the show’s more hectic segments. All those titles to get through in so little time.

So it was notable that Marr took a moment out yesterday to highlight something that was not in a newspaper.

It was a blog about Boris Johnson that had been published overnight on the BBC’s website. The author was Laura Kuenssberg.

In a lengthy article, the corporation’s political editor writes of the Prime Minister’s “complicated relationship with truth”.

Marr described it as “quite a stinging piece”. He was not wrong.

The blog comes at the end of a week in which the relationship between the main broadcasters and the Johnson administration has become increasingly strained.

The row started when the Daily Mail reported that the Prime Minister said he would rather see “bodies pile high” than bring in a third lockdown. The Prime Minister called the reports "total rubbish".

At that point, both ITV and the BBC, citing their own sources, weighed in on the paper’s side, thus making the story harder to dismiss.

The story kept running, all the way to Prime Minister’s Questions when Labour leader Keir Starmer raised the matter again.

A furious Prime Minister denied saying such a thing, and that rebuttal is now part of the official record, which was presumably the Labour leader’s intention.

If Downing Street hoped that was the end of the matter for now, the Kuenssberg blog should have them thinking again. The BBC’s political editor may not be as blunt as that other blogger in the news, former adviser Dominic Cummings, but her points are made forcefully and memorably.

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“It is not the first time in Boris Johnson's long career that he has faced questions about his conduct and character,” she writes.

“But the stakes are so much higher now. His unique way of running things – and sometimes chaotic approach to decision-making – has, sources tell me, led exasperated colleagues in No 10 to nickname him ‘Trolley’.

“‘You think you are pushing it along a path towards your goal then suddenly it veers off disastrously,’ says one insider.”

Quotes are attributed to sources, insiders, and former Ministers, which is something readers are used to seeing in newspapers but not in mainstream BBC coverage.

One quote in particular stands out. Kuenssberg writes: “A former minister, once close to him, told me: ‘The problem is that it's becoming clearer that the PM treats facts like he treats all his relationships – utterly disposable once inconvenient. It's all about power. Facts, policies, people - they all get ditched if they get in the way. Whatever is necessary”.

Hearing part of that quote prompted Marr, a previous BBC political editor, to say: “Goodness me. That is strong stuff.”

In what might also be seen as a message to Downing Street, Kuenssberg says the sources who backed up the “bodies” quotes to the BBC and other news organisations are prepared to testify under oath “if they have to”.

Another story from the past week, Sofagate, Cash for Curtains, whatever your label of choice, rumbled through the Sunday shows.

Marr managed to “put a kilt” on the story when he asked Douglas Ross if the Prime Minister should quit if he was found to be in breach of the ministerial code.

“Of course,” replied the leader of the Scottish Conservatives.

“I think people expect the highest standards of those in the highest office of the land.”

Dominic Raab, Foreign Secretary and yesterday’s minister for the Sunday shows, was far less willing to engage on the story, or on further allegations in the papers that Conservative party donors had been asked to pay for a nanny and a personal trainer.

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In a spirited exchange on Sky News’ Ridge on Sunday, Mr Raab said the PM had answered the claims and inquiries were taking place.

Asked if the childcare costs claim was true, he said: “I have no idea. You don’t think I have conversations like that with the Prime Minister. I can’t comment on every little bit of gossip that’s in the newspapers.”

To those who complain that this socially-distanced pandemic election has offered little to nothing in terms of “TV moments”, The Sunday Show managed something remarkable: a live chat between a broadcaster, Martin Geissler, and a politician, Nicola Sturgeon, both in the same studio.

Ms Sturgeon said it was the first time in more than a year that she had been in a studio at BBC Scotland’s Pacific Quay headquarters.

What a difference it made, too, with Geissler on typically lively form and Ms Sturgeon giving as good as she got on the subject of keeping election promises.

While the two clashed verbally you could still hear their points and the interview ran on smoothly and at pace. Contrast this with stop-start exchanges over video call that too often descend into shouting matches.

There may be some, politicians and broadcasters, who prefer video call interviews because it is less hassle. But seeing the “old school” way again showed there is simply no contest between the two if you want to keep the attention of viewers.