I worked on local papers, before taking a job as a webmaster with a very well known telecommunications company in London, as I thought the internet was the future.

My father's example taught me self-reliance, to make my own luck, and to work to make things happen.

My father was a self-employed, commission-only salesman. He sold double-glazing and fitted kitchens, amongst other things. As he never declared himself unemployed, there was never recourse to benefits, so if money was tight, money was tight. It taught me that we were a closed unit, and that we had to be resourceful.

It took me a while to get established - success didn't happen overnight.

I have always been quite careful when I have been approached to do a television project to have the option of writing the accompanying book.

I want to look beyond the legends, to find the real story of Scotland. And it's every bit as thrilling.

People looking at what I do from the outside would think it was a secure world I live in, but it isn't. Just because you had a series last year, doesn't mean you will have one next. But I am quite happy with that.