WERE you hoping to get your hands on a signed CD copy of Jane McDonald's new album, Living The Dream, boasting nine original tracks and four stunning reworkings of country classics?

If so, I'm afraid I have disappointing news. According to Jane's official website, the signed copies have sold out. Yep, the whole lot. I suppose you could still buy a plain one and sign it yourself, but would that feel the same? I'm not so sure.

Still, it shows how popular Jane has become. Which should guarantee decent viewing figures for this perky two-part special, where we find her recording said album in Music City itself.

Since Living The Dream came out last month, I see it's been doing well, going straight into the top ten. Not that this surprises me.

What surprises me is that, according to her website, Jane's fanbase appears to be almost exclusively female. If you fancy treating yourself to an item of official Jane McDonald clothing - the T-shirt (£30), the sweater (£50), the padded hooded jacket (£60) - all it offers are ladies' versions. For a bloke, it's the Jane McDonald unisex polo shirt or nothing.

Unless, of course, I've entirely missed the point. Maybe, like those signed CDs, all the Jane McDonald men's gear has sold out, novelty boxers and all.

But either way, good luck to her; Jane always strikes me as a really nice person. And she looks as if she's having the time of her life on this Nashville trip, soaking up the country scene, visiting famous music venues, getting kitted out in the obligatory cowgirl clobber.

I can't say her music is my own cup of tea. To be honest, if she were sitting next to me on the train and she suddenly burst into song, as she seems to do in the oddest of places (in her last series, I swear I saw her singing to a bunch of penguins), I'd probably call for the guard to have her removed. But a lot of people love her, and that's all that really matters.

And do you know what? Other people's passions can be infectious. So who's to say, given time, I couldn't still become a Jane McDonald fan?

I could start with the Jane McDonald fridge magnet. It's only a fiver.

Assuming it's unisex, obviously.

I should probably check.

Paul Merton: Driving Amazing Trains, C4, 8pm

Comedian Paul Merton has long felt a special connection with railways. Indeed, his dad was a tube driver on London's District Line. So Paul is chuffed (that's a very funny pun, I do hope you enjoyed it) that he now has the chance to ride up front in all kinds of locomotives, in a series that wears its nerdiness proudly on its sleeve. He begins on the Isle of Wight, where former tube trains have been adapted for use for decades. They've been converted from underground D78 stock, if you must know.

Race Across The World, BBC1, 8pm

"We've won!" cried an elated Katie, when she and brother Harrison reached the Emelisse nature resort in Kefalonia, the teams' first checkpoint. They hadn't, of course, but it's left them so far ahead of the pack at the start of this second leg that her optimism doesn't feel entirely misplaced. To reach checkpoint number two they must now head for Istanbul, 1,300km to the east - or, in non-metric measurements, blooming miles away - but for now, hey, what's the rush? "I could get used to this," remarks Katie, sipping her cocktail by the hotel pool. "I think this might be my peak moment in life..."

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