Unfortunately I was in deepest Wales on the day when TV made me briefly famous so I missed all the phone calls from friends saying nice things. I did pop into Builth Wells the next day, wearing the same glasses I wore on my TV programme, just in case anyone felt like recognising me. But no one did because they probably don’t get Channel 4 in those parts, just S4C, which I wasn’t on.
It’s a weird thing experiencing TV from the other side of the screen. On the one hand, it’s great having people notice you in a way they just don’t when, say, you’ve written only three brilliant novels and spent almost 20 years slogging your arse off in journalism. On the other, I’m not sure I like feeling quite so exposed. When you’re on TV, people think that this gives them carte blanche to hate your guts. They think you’re overpaid and that they could have done a much better job themselves.
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