Baghdad bombing is no match for crooners' TV tributes to their leader

Even in British television schedules, dominated by talent contests, a pitch for "Celebrity Saddam Idol" would be unlikely to find a commissioning editor.

Yet for Iraqi audiences, the sight of the country's favourite crooners lining up to sing their leader's praises dominates prime-time viewing even as the bombs fall on Baghdad.

"Oh, Saddam, master of wisdom, let justice and mercy be your crown," sang one, in front of a statue of President Saddamastride a horse.

Cut to the Iraqi leader, grinning and gesticulating from his seat at a table in a large hall as a choir of hundreds sings and dancers swan around him.

Iraqi television executives have yet to discover a Davina McCall, so President Saddam makes do with an old woman dressed in black, who is shown pulling the President to her and kissing him on the cheek.

The images have bemused the BBC's world media monitoring unit, which said yesterday that the "programming appeared to be at odds with the situation in the country".

The singing and dancing – interspersed with images of President Saddam in a variety of warlike poses – was being shown as other Arab networks were screening interviews with Taha Yassin Ramadan, the Iraqi Vice-President, discussing the capture of American troops.

But although Iraqi television shot the controversial footage and sent it around the world, the country's viewers were fed their regular diet of light entertainment, starring the President.

But it is not true to say that Iraqi state television ignores the war. President Saddam has used it to address the people in an effort to strengthen their resolve. The station has also been used to promote the sale of bomb shelters.

Iraq maintains a ban on foreign satellite television and state television is limited to four channels. An old joke among television viewers is that if the service fails, they place a picture of President Saddam on screen.

A ban on the internet was lifted in 1999, allowing some to access foreign news websites, but internet cafés are monitored by officials. More commonly, people listen to Arabic radio broadcasts from the BBC World Service and Radio Monte Carlo.

Tony Blair's appearance this month on MTV was a sombre affair, featuring the Prime Minster being grilled by young people. Mr Blair might be Britain's King of Spin, but fans of "Saddam Idol" would have voted him off the show.