Somebody talked me into writing an autobiography about six or seven years ago. And I said I'd try. We talked into a tape recorder, and after a couple of months, I said, To hell with it. I was so depressed. It was like saying, 'This is the end.' I was more interested in what the hell was coming the next day or the next week.

I think it [Brexit] is wonderful.We've got to decide in this country who we are.We made a momentous decision.It's a bit like a prison break.

I'm a catalyst for change. You can't be an outsider and be successful over 30 years without leaving a certain amount of scar tissue around the place.

Much of what passes for quality on British television is no more than a reflection of the narrow elite which controls it and has always thought that its tastes were synonymous with quality.

Journalists should think of themselves as outside the Establishment, and owners can't be too worried about what they're told at their country clubs.

No one's going to be able to operate without a grounding in the basic sciences. Language would be helpful, although English is becoming increasingly international. And travel. You have to have a global attitude.

Is there any other industry [than the press] in this country which seeks to presume so completely to give the customer what he does not want?