ON THE ROPES (8)

Marcus Orealius, I believe the quote being, "If there is something that bothers you, remember it is not the thing itself, it is just the power that you bring to it and this you can revoke at any moment" and that's when I thought, I thought, "I'm actually letting go of all this, I'm letting, I don't like this, what are you doing? If you had won the money you got you wouldn't go to work and yet all of a sudden you're playing that game". And that was a real watershed moment, laying on there feeling miserable and I don't believe I've felt miserable since, unless it's you know, the kids are ill". · Well, lets see if you're going to get miserable at this or not. Gillian Reynolds wrote about you that she……..and she's a great fan of yours, was a great fan

…….was a great fan

was great fan………

yeah I think she was

that your are beset by insecurities, whenever the stage increases in size, whether it's moving to Radio One, where you were not successful or onto BBC1, he just became wilder and wilder and in doing so and I quote" became a monster"….So in other words, this notion that this sort of brash exterior, conceals this insecure man……….

Again it's I'm sure you're aware that's a theory that has been trundled out before about various people. I just……..I cannot look at it in terms of the career. I've no idea of how I'm perceived or what people think of us.

Really?

None, none, none….and the only thing I'd like to think and I think even, I mean Chris is pretty, Chris Evans is reviled, you know people say, "what a horrible, you know, and all that goes with that…….what a horrible man". But one thing that anyone pretty much, apart from one or two honourable exceptions, even that fella might think I was all right. They actually say, "He's actually, he's good company Baker", and that's it and that really does do it for me. Know whether……

Do you want to be loved then?

For the career? No! Loved by real people in real life and have a huge family which I've got. You know, extended family all over the place, and spend most of the week with cold drinks in my hand and eating lump lobster…...and not caring about the wicked world one bit. So is somebody says, "You know, you did a couple of series that didn't work". Where is my monument, look around me old boy? A pretty agreeable old pile-up on Blackheath. Now that sounds awfully smug but there it is, it's a fact! I've never truly done…..look at my hands, I come from a family of dock-workers, look……

They're clean.

They are clean. I don't have to go to work. Can you imagine, see people say you're insecure, but why? Why aren't I a panellist on game shows now? Why don't I turn up n Call My Bluff or whatever you want to do. I don't have….I don't want to go to work, I never have and yet because I'm petty good value in whatever way you want to turn me in terms of broadcasting; whether it's pure gonna set their thumbs alight bombast to actually something that's quite amusing or whatever, that's fine, that's how I earn my living, but it's not insecurity……

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