There was no 'shaft of light' moment that made Maurice decide to be a journalist… it was a children's programme called Press Gang. (Yep, the same programme that made Julia Sawalha a household name before she was Ab Fab's Saffi!) "I'd grown up in a part of Ireland were life didn't revolve around the TV, so when we moved to England I was amazed to see a programme about children running their own newspaper and putting adults on the spot. I wanted THAT job… except I can't spell!"
 | | Horticultural graffitti!! |
So magazines and newspapers were out, leaving only broadcasting…
After convincing the editor of BBC Radio Oxford to make him a trainee out of college, Maurice was 'poached' to HTV in Bristol. Having spent two years presenting and reporting there, and almost four at BBC Points West, Maurice recently decided to change direction. "I don't think I was designed to wear a tie every day – and don't get me started on the make-up!" As well as presenting Fresh Saturday lunchtimes with Jill Misson, Maurice is now studying Garden Design at Pershore College. Maurice still hankers after his idyllic Irish roots.
"I was born in the foothills of the Blackstairs Mountains between Kilkenny and Waterford. No street lights, no cars, buses, planes, trains or lorries just fresh clean air, plenty of space to run in and loads of trees to climb." Maurice has spent the last couple of years renovating and extending an almost derelict house in the countryside, as he still finds it hard to live in noisy and bright towns or cities. When he's not building or digging the garden, he loves skiing, scuba diving, swimming and rowing (and once held a World Endurance Record for rowing non-stop for almost 18 days!). If that doesn't sound back-breaking enough, Maurice recently took up acrobatics with an ambition to do a backflip.
 | | Maurice at the Ideal Home show |
Maurice tried his hand at many jobs growing up, from organising summer play schemes for children with disabilities, running a cafe at a parachute training centre to creating desserts as a sweet chef in the Cotswolds. "I thought being a journalist would be a doddle after all of that. "Once you've faced the hungry general public or a room full of bored children I thought I could handle almost anything. How wrong was I?" Hear Maurice every Saturday from 12-2 with Jill Misson on Fresh – Blooming good ideas for your home and garden. | 
