in i900 and frozen to death, i knew him as a sports journalist and i read him avidly i was a sports journalist once and i saw he was doing some things for a local sports programme and thought this guy had something. so i lushed him up at the savoy in london and offered to be his agent and i never heard another word. i wish id 10% of him for the rest of his career, but at least myjudgment was right. it was indeed. and what was he like as a man? exactly as you see on screen. very down to earth, very straightforward, very grounded, a wonderful marriage, lovely family. part of him couldn t believe what had happened to him and the other half enjoyed it. but he never lost sight of his roots, which were pretty well delineated by him on many programmes. that seems to be a thread coming through in some of the tributes,