Tough man to please, my father. If I get a "it was fine" about a programme or owt else I’m doing, that’s heady praise indeed. He considers it his mission to keep my feet on the ground (not that it’s necessary – I’m hypercritical of everything I do anyway, so my feet are firmly buried a couple...

I’m sitting in a coffee bar, tapping away on an article on my keyboard and I feel like I’m skiving. Today was meant to be the last filming day for my ITV show, but it’s been cancelled as we’re all done. So I’ve reclaimed the day to catch up on my articles. Yet I’m struggling to get...

Update Note August 2016: When I wrote this blog the Martian was by a minor publisher. Many people downloaded the book after the blog, which boosted it up Amazon charts. Soon after it was taken off as it was due to be republished with a bigger publisher and to become a film. That film became a Hollywood blockbuster...