Douglas Ross’s hand shot up as if he was about to burst into his now infamous Atomic Kitten routine.
The five main party leaders had all been asked which of them expected to be first minister after next week’s election.
He was not, alas, about to start an election dance off, but nor was he tipping himself for the top job.
It would have been better for the Scottish Tory leader if it had been either of those, however.
Instead, it turned out he was gesticulating towards First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.
The moment was one of several during the Channel 4 News leaders’ debate, and previous ones during the campaign, in which the male politicians appeared to be shouting down the only woman.
By the final stages of the 43-minute encounter, the SNP leader was doing most of her talking with her facial expressions.
This was evidence enough that none of her rivals had been able to land the kind of blows that would derail the SNP’s seemingly inevitable victory next week.
The bad-tempered exchanges, particularly when it came to the inevitable discussion on Scotland’s constitutional future, also underlined the stagnation in the campaign and our politics.
The Glasgow venue where the debate was held was named the Galvanizers, but the leaders arrived too late to stop the rot.
Comment: Debate rounds on similar themes when there’s plenty more to talk about