A Good Face for Radio: Confessions of a Radio Head

As I loiter, an odd feeling sweeps over me. It's the same feeling I get when I dream I'm five seconds away from going live on the radio and I look down to discover all my scripts are in Swahili. It's the same feeling I get when I hear the words 'This is CNN. And now, for the whole of the next hour: Piers Morgan'

For millions of listeners to BBC Radio 4, Eddie Mair has been the trusted guide to the world every weeknight at 5pm for nearly 20 years. Prime Ministers, politicians of all hues, captains of industry and captains of football teams have all encountered Mair's broadcasting style. And they've all wondered: who on earth is this?

On these pages, you'll discover who he is, and why. As he chronicles his years fronting some of Britain's most beloved radio and television programmes.

'That interview with Boris Johnson. It was supposed to focus on our mutual love of salsa (dancing and sauce) but I allowed it to get sidetracked. I've never watched it back

'I do indeed have a face for radio, along with fingers for playing the piano badly and a bald patch for screening movies in Cinemascope

For now though , I give you my life, in these pages, with love, respect and - as my colleagues will tell you - a little too much aftershave'