“After failing my school exams with distinction, I hadn’t a clue as to what I was going to do with my life. Passing through a couple of backstage jobs in London’s Theatreland, I arrived at Elstree Studios, where I worked on 'Monty Python's Meaning of Life’. From there, I zigzagged through other jobs but found myself at the iconic BBC TV Centre in Wood Lane to work on Noel Edmonds' 'Late, Late Breakfast Show'. Onwards, to Wembley Stadium, as part of the team that operated the giant TV screen on 'Queen: Live Magic’.

 

A few years later, a chance meeting introduced me to a passion that was to dominate the next 30 years: television news. Earning my stripes covering the political world of Westminster, I was seconded to join Central TV's 'Cook Report', then to Sky News, who sent me on assignments to war-torn Bosnia, and to South Africa, where I witnessed Nelson Mandela’s historic election victory.

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On joining The Associated Press (AP), I instructed two dozen seasoned journalists how to shoot and edit their own news footage. My bosses then packed me off to sea to join the crew of HMS Invincible to play with Harrier jump jets. Reassigned to Paris, I began a meaningful two-decade love affair with the French - their culture, food, and women - all starting with the death of a princess.

 

The 1998 FIFA World Cup came to town, bringing its unique party atmosphere, and there followed interviews with presidents and world leaders, then out to Kosovo, dodging David Bowie’s chewing gum, hide and seek with Ellen MacArthur, and breakfast with Lucius Malfoy ..”