THE LATE INTERVIEWER

I was lucky enough to interview Sir David Frost. He was one of the interviewees on a show I devised for Sky called WHO'S BEEN SLEEPING IN MY BED? at the onset of our fascination with the world of celebrity and the ordinary things that extraordinary people do.   Sir David chose Chewton Glen as his favourite hotel as this is where his children boarded near and he would fly down in helicopter and stay there, beautifully looked after by the staff there and a wonderfully characterful hotel manager who reminded me a Basil Fawlty but a good one - if you know what I mean.   I wasn't really interested in why he chose the hotel, I wanted to ask about his interview with Nixon as unlike most on the planet I thought Nixon was a very good president. He disliked PR and was lousy at it, and he probably had a lot of contempt for those he 'served' (as do many prime ministers and presidents only they are much better at hiding it...perhaps with the exception of Gordon Brown).  Nixon's lies found him out, but only because unlike past and present presidents and prime ministers he probably didn't have as much on other people as they have on him.     Nixon's demise in front of camera saved Sir Frost and he knew it and told me as much.  WBSIMB was a slight series talking about favourite hotels, but several turned into something much deeper because those I interviewed felt at home in the places they had chosen.  I interviewed the late Lord Yehudi Menuhin in Brussels and the late Anita Roddick, both working but choosing ironically the same hotel at the same time. What a contrast they were.   Menuhin whimsical and funny. Roddick on a race with herself and her mind always on the move even when her body wasn't.   Sir David Frost was a professional asking as much about me as I did about him.  Unlike Nixon,  I didn't crack.