Who would have thought that fuddy-duddy Bafta, whose faded headquarters in Piccadilly are lined with portraits of Dickie Attenborough and David Lean, would emerge as Jonathan Ross's best friend?

First it chooses Ross to host its film awards only a fortnight after his three-month rustication from the BBC. Now, as TV awards night approaches, it nominates him for Best Entertainment Performance.

Ross may be more surprised by the news than Bafta is. Its nominations are arrived at rather tortuously. Broadcasters name the programmes of which they are most proud, and Bafta members cast votes. A list of finalists is then drawn by a jury of “experts”. It is hard to believe that the BBC would have forced Ross's show on to the long list had the Bafta membership not already put it there. But the members are not the Brucies and Sir Dickies of yesteryear. Bafta says that its membership has grown markedly in recent years: “We have developed a broader, more inclusive, more engaged membership that better reflects the ways our industries are evolving.”

I think they mean “younger”, and, it has often been observed, your likely position on Ross is largely determined by your age. On the blogs yesterday, the generational wounds inflicted by his and Russell Brand's obscene phone call to the actor Andrew Sachs were reopened by the news of the nomination. Some were dismayed that Bafta had given the finger to the ordinary British viewer, others delighted that it had told the “hypocrites” at the Daily Mail where to get off.

Ross may regret his nomination. The nation had largely forgotten if not forgiven his crimes. In his early weeks back on air, some journalists were keen to see offence at his every other joke. Others were warned in legalistic tones not even to suggest that the quality of his guests had fallen since his shaming. A few were nauseated to see a performer so well-paid begging money from us on behalf of Comic Relief.

The truth is, his apologies were efficient and, so far as one could tell, sincere. They allowed him to continue much as before. Having got away with it, he is unlikely to be gravely disappointed if the award goes to someone less divisive.

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