"It's not funny, and it's not clever. " I have my old headmaster's words echoing around my head, and he was probably right then, and he'd probably be right now about my book.

It's not funny or clever. What it is, is as truthful an account as I can record of half a century working in British television, as everything including reporter, presenter, producer and CEO of ITV.

At an early stage in my career, someone told me it would all be fun, and those parts which weren't fun would be interesting. Most of it was fun and interesting.

Some just fun. Some just interesting.

I've travelled to some of the most difficult and dangerous places in the world. I've produced programmes from World in Action to Grumpy Old Men, and from Three Men In A Boat to Portrait Artist of the Year.

I've met every Prime Minister from Harold Wilson to David Cameron, two American Presidents, and Ella Fitzgerald. I've made Joan Bakewell laugh and Joan Rivers cry.

But my pursuit of my fifty year career came at a cost, and in "Still Grumpy After All These Years," I also tell the stories of two terrible family tragedies along the way. So possibly not funny and not clever, but hopefully an informative and entertaining account of a life in telly.

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