IN the fall-out from last night’s “challengers” TV debate, Nigel Farage spent much of the day denying he had “lost his rag” when he attacked the BBC.

The UKIP leader was greeted with jeers and boos when he accused the Beeb of picking an anti-UKIP audience, barking out: “This lot's pretty left-wing, believe me.”

But there was something else that could explain Mr Farage’s bad temper….something connected to his self-confessed love of a drop of the hard stuff.

Before the last debate, Mr Farage announced he was abstaining from alcohol for most of the day, but would have “a couple of gin and tonics” before taking the stage.

Sure enough, on Thursday night, a bottle of gin awaited him in his dressing room, but it disappeared before the leader could touch a drop.

The problem was the venue, the BBC reported – it was Methodist Central Hall, where staff were strictly enforcing its “no spirits” rule.

So voters are most likely to see a picture of Ed Miliband on a Labour leaflet, obviously, aren’t they? Well, no, including to the electionleaflets.org website, which monitors this stuff.

It found the Labour leader on only 12 per cent of campaign brochures, yet his face is on 28 per cent of Conservative ones – incredibly, the same proportion that display David Cameron’s features.

Clearly, Tory candidates are convinced that Mr Miliband is electoral poison – but the leaflets were printed before we learned he is tricksy pool hustler, with an impressive list of former girlfriends, apparently.

Day 19 of the campaign and the polls are not budging, with both the Conservatives and Labour stranded on just 34 per cent, leaving them in need of partners at Westminster.

Populus said it had run endless permutations through its computers, but found the SNP’s willingness to work with Mr Miliband – but not Mr Cameron – the key factor.

It warned the Tories: “In eight out of ten scenarios, Ed Miliband emerges as the prime minister.”

Quote of the Day - Ed Miliband on David Cameron’s non-appearance at the TV debate: “I know he was washing his hair last night.”

Gaffe of the Day - Iain Duncan Smith’s call to rename “zero hours contracts” as “flexible hours”….it’s never a good idea to give the impression of hiding behind a rebranding.