WITH AN EYE ON . . . : VH-1’s Jonathan Ross keeps an interview going with wit and irreverence

“You’ve become the object of um, ah, what’s the word I’m looking for, to be polite?” Jonathan Ross asks Chris Isaak, the singer with the matinee-idol looks.

“Disgust?” Isaak suggests.

“Lust,” Ross responds. “In a certain section of the population . . .”

“Male prisoners?” Isaak says.

“I suspect, yes,” Ross says quickly. “Especially heavy-set guys . . . whichever sex, you’ve become a lust object.” After a few more give-and-take questions, Ross hits a philosophical wry note: “Life is a bowl of cherries and you’ve got to reach in and grab one!”

Long popular on Brit TV, the Englishman came to American audiences’ attention when he interviewed Madonna in 1992 during the promotion of the pop diva’s controversial book “Sex.” That interview, originally intended to air in Great Britain only, appeared on MTV.

It is Ross’ wit, candor and well-researched questions that not only put Madonna at ease, but any other celebrity put in front of the camera alongside him. For the Isaak interview, Ross and the celebrity sat across from each other on twin beds in a tacky motel room.

Unlike many of his more scandal-seeking countrymen, the host of VH-1’s “Jonathan Ross Presents” chooses to pose questions that allow his guests to show their personalities and reveal only as much as they like. He’s been able to put his sense of humor about others, as well as himself, to good use.

One might like to consider Ross as a kind of “English David Letterman” (whom he greatly admires), but he describes himself as “a fatter Arsenio, a just bemusing, generally lisping, slightly offbeat, pansy Brit who’s irreverent.”

For his longer-than-usual interviews--one guest gets the entire half-hour--Ross tries to “have a conversation, rather than a traditional interview. It’s more fun and entertaining and quite adult.”

Of his now infamous talk with Madonna, Ross says, “I asked to interview her during ‘Truth or Dare’ and she put in for another talk show and promised to do me next time around. I thought it was a polite way of saying ‘go away.’ ”

But when she actually did call back, Ross jumped on the opportunity. While he wasn’t a fan going in, he was by the end of the interview. “I bloody enjoyed it and was totally won over by her,” even though she uttered one of her favorite obscenities 13 times.

Ross was surprised at how often the Madonna interview was repeated in both the United States and England. “I was sick of the sight of myself.”

Among his other profiles: Gloria Estefan, Michael Bolton, Phil Collins, Johnny Depp, Burt Reynolds, Tom Jones, Cindy Crawford, Billy Joel, Emma Thompson, Meatloaf and Barry Manilow.

The most interesting interviews he’s done are of people who “lost it and then got it back again,” such as Meatloaf, he says. They are people “who offer perspectives from both sides.”

Ross finds that American journalists are more apt to be polite and be “hypocritical and only hint at things,” whereas “the British just take things further.” He concludes that “Americans are slightly more inhibited” in their approach.

Ross modestly points out that he would never presume to know what the American audience wants, even though it seems he’s successfully tapped into it. Ross, whose background includes a degree in modern European history from London University, is also a documentarian. His three-part “Americana,” shot throughout the country, consisted of the shorts “Fat,” “Dumb” and “Rich.” “It’s an affectionate look at the excesses of American life,” he says.

The recent dad--he and journalist wife Jane Goldman have a newborn son, Harvey Kirby, and a 2-year-old daughter, Betty--returns to the United States this week to do a Barbara Walters-style interview show with Johnny Cash, Paul Reiser, Dennis Miller and Vanessa Williams that precedes “VH-1 Honors.”

“Jonathan Ross Presents” airs Wednesdays at 4 p.m.; Saturdays at 10:30 a.m. and 4 p.m.; and Sundays at 10 a.m. on VH-1. His “VH-1 Honors” special airs Sunday at 4 and 7:30 p.m.