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I don't know whether you've noticed but there's a General Election in the offing.

And for the first of 2010 (Sunday, 12 noon, ´óÏó´«Ã½1, since you ask), we're plunging straight into one of our electoral battlegrounds.

It could be a fascinating one too.

The Conservatives haven't held a seat in Sunderland since 1964. (My producer tells me Roy Orbison was at number one).

But because of boundary changes, the Tories think they have a real stab at taking the .

On paper it still looks a tough ask. Labour have a notional majority of 9,000, and the Tories need a swing of 13 per cent.

But the Conservative candidate Lee Martin believes they're making good ground, and says there is an appetite for change.

That's been backed up by some good local election results in the last few years.

It'd certainly be a high profile victory. The Sunderland seats are always amongst the first to declare and are expected early again this time (there was a possibility they might break with tradition and count on Friday but that prospect has gone away).

Imagine seeing a Conservative overturn a whacking Labour majority in one of the first results.

It's something I know that's giving Labour in the region some sleepless nights - the prospect of their heartland delivering a kind of Basildon moment.

We're testing the temperature there this week, and my colleague Mark Denten has even tracked down the Labour politician who defeated Sunderland's last Conservative MP in 1964. (He's for any anoraks out there - actually if you're an anorak, you already knew that).

It'll be nice to get back on screen. Mind you, it wasn't an entirely Moss-free Christmas TV schedule.

During the rag end of Christmas Day, I tuned into (yes the TV was THAT bad!), and caught a bit of myself as it were.

Mind you, you'd have to be eagle-eyed. It was a rerun of the , which were filmed for ´óÏó´«Ã½ Parliament in November.

Now as some of you will know, I was criminally ignored by the awards panel who made some upstart called Robert Peston political journalist of the year.

But I did play a starring supporting role, as on some shots you could see me taking regular sips of "water" (ahem...it may have been wine, I forget.)

I never thought I'd make it onto the Christmas Day ´óÏó´«Ã½ schedule, although I haven't yet checked whether I scored higher ratings than Eastenders or Dr Who.

I do though look forward to becoming as big a festive TV institution as Morecambe and Wise, Only Fools and Horses and Christmas Top of the Pops.

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