Jeremy Vine, 37, has worked his way through the channels of journalism to gain a reputation as a tough-talking presenter of BBC's Newsnight.

He joined the BBC as a news trainee in 1987, on the same day as former director-general John Birt arrived.

A University of Durham graduate, his apprenticeship saw him work in Belfast for two years, where he was occasionally drafted in to read the morning news bulletins.

He also worked with Joan Bakewell as a researcher on Heart of the Matter.

In 1989 he joined BBC Radio 4's Today programme as a reporter.

There his assignments included a posting to Siberia, reporting on the Mafia and from inside the Middle East.

Other jobs were as diverse as covering punishment beatings in Northern Ireland to sheep-racing in Dorset.

Beach challenge

Vine bided his time filling in for more high-profile presenters such as Michael Buerk and Brian Redhead before being appointed political correspondent under John Sergeant.

And it was an eventful time for him as the Conservative Party rapidly diminished to be replaced by New Labour and a new environment of spin.

Peter Mandelson objected to Vine's questions

Lord Jeffrey Archer challenged him to a race down the beach at Brighton after Vine said the Tory party had become increasingly "elderly".

Although Vine turned up to the beach, Lord Archer pulled out citing tiredness.

During the 2001 election campaign he travelled the length and breadth of the UK in a Newsnight camper van.

Storming out

Following a mishap when the vehicle hit a road sign, Vine wrote a grovelling letter to Bristol City Council to apologise for bending the sign.

During the same campaign, Peter Mandelson famously stormed out of an interview in the van because he did not like the line of questioning.

Vine says he is proudest of his report from South Africa, when his story about police brutality led to 22 officers being suspended.

He has won numerous awards for his reports including an Amnesty International Radio Award and Stendhal Television Prize.

But on BBC Radio 2, listeners are likely to hear more about his taste for The Smiths and Joy Division and his support for Chelsea FC.