Cryptic crossword No 2,407

A reliably excellent Coot puzzle that I didn’t actually solve myself but had much fun watching on Cryptic Sunday! 😁

Nice work, Coot! Thought this was challenging fun! Faves were 6d 9a 2d 7d and 14a. Spoilers…

Thanks Coot, that was excellent as expected. It took me quite some time to get a foothold but once I did everything fell into place. I couldn't parse 5a & 17a but the defs & crossers made the answers obvious. My top picks were 12a, 14a, 19a, 22a, 5d (COTD), and 13d. My only question is with 20a -- Is Sid Rotten related to Johnny Vicious?

Love 3d 😀 — I caught the tail end of CS and greatly enjoyed the parts I saw.

Thanks Coot. Enjoyable. Did I miss a theme? I wondered whether the image had relevance? Quite a number I enjoyed inc 8a which I've seen before but which makes me laugh every time, 14a, 22a, 6d and 14d. Thanks. PM

Like Henri, I watched this being solved on CS and really enjoyed the experience. A really nice puzzle with all the ease a fluency of a really good setter. Just 20a's SR puzzled me, but too many good clues and surfaces to pick a podium.