I’ m sure a lot of people in the media are terribly lonely if they just admit it. That’s why you see them in bars, because they have nowhere to go. They turn to drink to deaden the effect. Being famous is like being extremely beautiful, in that it makes you seem extremely distant.

It can be very difficult for someone like me to go into a bar, for instance. People stare, and come over and ask for an autograph, which is very nice and flattering, but the assumption is always: “What on earth is he doing here?” Initially it is very easy to meet people, but it is always very superficial, and they are always the same kind of people.

I suffered very badly from loneliness in the past. Like other broadcasters, I am quite timid, but I was also very ambitious, and that didn’t leave me much time for friendship.

Eventually you can begin to enjoy loneliness and stop feeling sorry for yourself. I have a great job which compensates for a lot. I have one really good friend I’ve known for years, and I feel you can’t have everything.

S. Greenall and D. Pye. Cambridge skills for fluency Cambridge. Cambridge University Press , 1996 (adapted.)