LET’S be honest, it’s not been as good since John Peel died.

That homely, laid-back fireside mood he helped create as the rain lashed down on Worthy Farm and you watched from the comfort of your own home will never be recaptured, though Jo Whiley does okay and Mark Radcliffe’s interventions are always relevant.

Zane Lowe is all right, but lacks the depth and audience empathy that Peel had and doesn’t have his critical intelligence, as witnessed in he and Whiley’s fawning interview of U2.

“It was beautifully directed; you were so brave,” grovelled Whiley as if they’d just waded into the flooded fields to rescue some stricken campers.

Drummer Larry, meanwhile, complained that the crowd were too far away from him. Play some small places, then.

Lauren Laverne is always good value, but isn’t really afforded the coverage of the others, which is a shame.

There’s a lack of coverage of the smaller stages, which are what makes Glastonbury stand out from the festival crowd, with the cameras generally concentrated on the Pyramid and second stage.

So we get almost full coverage of U2’s greatest hits set — aside from the anti-Bono tax protests — which lacks spark despite a somewhat odd satellite link-up with astronaut Mark Kelly, and similar with Coldplay and Beyonce, who easily wins over the crowd, showing that Glastonbury is no longer the indie-alternative festival of old, and instead now attracts the set that also attends Wimbledon and Ascot. Er, and Wayne Rooney was there.

Morrissey, The Streets, a determined Kaiser Chiefs, an energetic Primal Scream, an engaging Pulp and a bang on form festival-friendly Elbow receive due attention, while Hurts and Jessie J seem to be on permanent rotation on BBC4.

The ‘exclusive’ acoustic sets should be great, but somehow deaden the atmosphere as the smug presenters announce the acts.

Hard-Fi seemed back on form in this respect, while a pretty good Plan B-style rap was ruined by Radcliffe talking over Jo Whiley telling you exactly who it was.

So who was the best band of the festival? Laverne says it was Warpaint, but Lowe doesn’t know.

Radcliffe talks effusively about Glasvegas and, surprisingly, Coldplay, while Whiley says Beyonce gave one of the best performances she has ever seen.

We are consistently warned about potential bad language and use of strobes, like anyone watching this wouldn’t actually be expecting it — it really is Auntie Beeb taking care of your sensitivities.

“If you are going to wear all white it is not advisable to roll around on a filthy festival stage,” Radcliffe quips as Glasvegas’ James Allan picks himself up off the floor. Everyone else is filthy, so why shouldn’t he be?

As a TV spectacle, it’s better than most of what’s on, but it could be better and the style of the coverage reflects the changing face of the festival.

There’s a few minutes each day given over to Glastonbury’s oddities and eccentricities like Lost Vagueness and the healing fields, but largely it’s the main stage and the more commercial side that receives the bulk of the cameras’ attention, which isn’t really what Glastonbury is about, or what it should be about.

Next year, they will probably bring in some youth TV presenter for a festival headlined by a Michael Jackson tribute act, Jedward or Take That.