It wasn't glamorous in my day. In the regions, reporters were seen as such low life that they didn't merit their name in the Radio Times. Now people are interested in being famous. I never gave it a thought.

I have never been attracted to any kind of violence.

Up until about 12 years ago we never, ever, wore flak jacket or helmets but now the nastiness has got worse.

I don't want to be involved in endless media gossip.

In any war, there is a concealment of certain kinds of setbacks because it's propaganda for the enemy.

Beslan, where the Russian authorities stopped live coverage of the school being stormed, was an illustration of the progress we still have to make.

I was sent to a nice Church of England girls' school and at that time, after university, a woman was expected to become a teacher, a nurse or a missionary - prior to marriage.