Jeremy Paxman on the beard: "I’m finding it quite a heavy burden"
It has become part of the national discourse, the subject of acres of chin-stroking newspaper columns and even a topic of discussion on Radio 4's hard-hitting news programme The World at One.
So it is little wonder Jeremy Paxman is finding his much-debated beard "a heavy burden".
Penning his thoughts for the Telegraph, Paxman expresses his astonishment that "allegedly serious news outlets" have devoted so much newsprint and airtime to his facial fuzz.
He wrote: "I had not seen it coming. A couple of colleagues on Monday had idly — if a little incredulously — asked: 'Are you going to wear that on air?'
"This I attributed to the corporation’s very obvious conviction that the only beards allowed on screen belong to characters like Uncle Albert in Only Fools and Horses.
"This may explain why beardies seem to consider themselves an oppressed minority."
But while Paxman seems to be amused (if bemused) by the majority of the coverage of the last week, it appears as though he is now being weighed down by the beard's demands.
"For a glorious few days, I have been a poster-boy for a shadowy group called the Beard Liberation Front, which claims that facial hair invites discrimination.
"The organisation seems to be run by a notorious north London letter-writer called Keith Flett, best known for his crucial role in the Campaign for Real Conkers.
"I’m finding it quite a heavy burden."
What's the betting we will see a clean-shaven Paxman on our screens this week?