From Flare Days To Airwaves

Before elections, Eggheads, Radio 2 and Strictly, Jeremy Vine was a wannabe punk rocker trying to make it in the not-so-revolutionary surroundings of Cheam village. As he releases his latest memoir, the broadcaster looks back on those halcyon days of fun, family and an innovative method of measuring flares

- Jake Taylor

THE phrase ‘all in a day’s work’ has perhaps no greater relevance than when ascribed to Jeremy Vine. After all, he is one of the top talents on the BBC broadcasting roster, a formidable presence on flagship shows such as Newsnight, Crimewatch, UK Election night specials and Eggheads. He even chacha-cha’d with the best of them on Strictly Come Dancing, where Craig Revel Horwood compared the 6’ 3” journalist to “a stork that had been hit by lightning”.

But the most compelling of Vine’s broadcasting commitments is surely his eponymous Radio 2 show. Situated between Ken Bruce and Steve Wright each weekday afternoon, The Jeremy Vine Show has gone from strength-to-strength since its first airing 13 years ago. It now boasts an audience of over 7.5 million – and the breadth of current affairs dissected daily by the presenter and his opinionated audience covers every topic imaginable. World politics? Animal encounters? The pros and cons of the 5p carrier bag charge? All in a day’s work.

So when it came to documenting the 25,000-plus calls he’d taken in his studio, Vine had a wealth of poignant tales and hilarious anecdotes to compile into his newest memoir: What I Learnt: What My Listeners Say – And Why We Should Take Notice.

“I was looking for a way to describe what I think has happened in the world through looking at my show and reflecting on 25,000 calls,” the 52-year-old says. “I thought the key word was ‘i-Power’, which was the idea that the listener’s own experience matters more.