And Sue Barker was the soul of brief, sympathetic inquiry.
But his name usually prompts a flash of recognition, and the occasional sympathetic inquiry: "How are you doing?" "I don't know what they expect.
As we report today, Ms May herself may be sympathetic to giving the inquiry greater powers, but we can understand the private reservations of her colleagues.
But one witness — evidently sympathetic to a Clinton Foundation inquiry — told The Hill it was "extremely professional and unquestionably thorough". And the Daily Beast reported last week that the FBI, "acutely aware" of Trump's demands, is also taking another look at Clinton's handling of email during her tenure as secretary of state.
Barakat seemed sympathetic, and signed a paper requesting inquiries into the case.
In late May, Culture Minister Jeremy Hunt, a close associate of Mr. Cameron, told the inquiry that he had been personally sympathetic to the bid, but did not act with improper bias when he was assigned to oversee it.
May, who has said she will consider their request for a public inquiry, is said to have been sympathetic to the former miners Arthur Critchlow and Kevin Horne, who described Orgreave's crushing impact on them and their communities.
Democrats worry that Whitaker, whose public comments before taking over the Justice Department suggested he was sympathetic to Trump and critical of the Mueller inquiry, may seek to evade questions he is asked during the hearing.
Two other teachers near Dresden have been removed from their classrooms as well, while inquiry boards decide whether they made statements that were sympathetic to the terrorists.
While she initially mishandled allegations of a coverup of high-level child abuse, she has now set up a serious inquiry; and she won plaudits from campaigners for the sympathetic and determined way she is tackling deaths in custody.
In the letter, Mr Wheelhouse said that "while sympathetic to the underlying concerns" the Scottish government did not think a public inquiry at the current time would add to ongoing work.
