TheGrifter

I am a 56 year old husband and father of two, now working as an occasional media and broadcaster consultant (largely abroad) and author. My first book for children ('The Abberley Space Rocket') was published last year and I am in the process of completing my first novel, a romance/crime thriller called The Canal Pusher. Having worked as a newspaper journalist and graduating from the University of Manchester (1st class BA Hons in English and American Literature with Classics) I joined the BBC as a TV reporter. My BBC career continued for 25 years in Bristol, Southampton, Birmingham and London and I worked as a senior manager/Director on the board of BBC News, as the Controller of BBC English Regions (ie in charge of all local radio and regional TV News in England) and finally as the Director in charge of the £1.046bn project to redevelop Broadcasting House in London and move 5,000 more staff into it. I now live in rural Worcestershire with my wife Helen who is Head of Communications at St Richard's Hospice. My son is a sports journalist at Mail.online and my daughter is completing a fashion degree at Falmouth University. I have three dogs (two border terriers and an English Springer) and occasionally keep rare breed pigs in our wood. I also enjoy occasional narrow-boating trips and dream of adding a boat to the Mark 1 Triumph Spitfire in my garage.