Likes:
Anything pendulous, log fires, Dannii Minogue's cat, gorse bushes, the
smell of the sea, the sound of a train, wine gums, chocolate teacups,
candy floss, the feel of kid leather, spume, serendipity, the gap called
now.
Dislikes:
the future, the past, banks, bank holidays, feet on seats, newspapers
and magazines, gambling, religion, intolerance, gravitas, ceremony,
sunflower seeds.
First car: A Triumph Herald convertible - it converted int a piece of crap that I had to abandon in Dublin.
Fav holiday destination: Wicklow and the vale of Avoca - more magic than Derren Brown.
Fav band: The Blue Nile - Like a mental spa.
Fav song: The Downtown Lights
Fav actors/films: Jack Nicholson - The Shining, Anthony Hopkins - Meet Joe Black
Career highlight:
There are two: 1. The moment when I was in
Dannii Minogue's dressing room at the X Factor final in 2008 and she
handed me her Blackberry with the words: "Would you like to see
a photo of my pussy?" It was a beautiful but nonetheless disappointing
Burmese Longhair.
2. "Laughing behind Shakin’ Steven's back during rehearsals and almost wrecking a live TV show after he threatened to walk.
Shoe size: 11
Heroes:
My heroes were and are: Kenny Everett, Bruce Forsyth, Frankie Howerd,
Peter Donaldson, Terry Wogan, Johnny Walker, John Cleese, Eric Idle,
Stephen Fry, Anthony Hopkins, Dennis Hopper and Jack Nicholson. I've
met and worked with them all thus far, except Frankie Howard, Anthony
Hopkins and Jack Nicholson.
Career Anecdotes:
I used to play phone dare with Wogan when I read the news on his show.
Just before the 8am news I would call him up from the newsroom and keep
him on the phone until the record before the pips was dying away. He
had to back announce the record and I had to dash to the studio. Whoever
slammed the phone down first was the loser. He always won...
Once, during a live Saturday night entertainment show on national TV I had to pretend to be a floor manager and interrupt an interview with American movie star Dennis Hopper. He hadn't a clue what was going on. I made him stand up - telling him we were running out of time - put his coat on and manhandled him off the set. The look on his face was priceless. He calmed down though when the producer handed him an envelope containing quite a few £50 notes and ushered him into a limo to take him back to the Dorchester.
After a day filming Bruce's Price is Right - I joined Bruce in his car to go from the studio back to the hotel in Leeds where we were staying. He graciously invited me into his suite for a nightcap. I sat down on a chair by the bed and Bruce disappeared into the bathroom. He emerged minutes later wearing a hotel dressing gown and his black silk socks held up with suspenders. Clambering onto the generous four poster bed, he proceeded to spoon me some cheese from a plate that had been provided, as a courtesy by the hotel. As I reached across the bed to accept the gift, I couldn't help but thinking to myself that life doesn't get much better than this!
At the stroke of midnight on the night of the X Factor final, sitting in Simon Cowell's dressing room in Fountain Studios with the show's winner Alexandra Burke - still misty eyed, sipping vintage champagne and watching her as yet unreleased winners song video. Nice.