| Place of birth: Sunderland |
| Favourite place or view in the North East: My back garden looking out down the River Wear to the sea. |
| First record you bought: Jon and Vangelis' "I'll Find My Way Home", quickly followed by Godley and Creme's "Under Your Thumb". |
| Previous jobs: I worked as a reporter for the Shields Gazette and a national newspaper based with a press agency in Newcastle. As a teenager I had my own mobile disco and DJ'd in winebars and clubs in Sunderland. |
| Good memories: Covering Sunderland in the Premiership a couple of years ago when they were winning all their games - that took some beating! |
Bad memories: I didn't particularly like visiting people (as a reporter) who had been recently bereaved. Sometimes people were pleased to see me and were happy to share their feelings. There is one woman from Ryton who I will never forget. Her son had just died. I left her house in tears.
On a lighter note, any jobs that involved hanging around in the cold for hours were never top of the bill! |
| Best thing about working in radio: The immediacy. We can be on air in seconds telling people what's going on. Radio can be received just about anywhere too. It's very different to TV. |
| Most interesting person you have interviewed for radio: There are too many to mention really...but interesting sports people generally get my vote. |
| Best thing about your show: It changes all the time. We go on air with one game plan and come off having done something completely different. It really is a living thing! |
| Person you would most enjoy being stuck in a lift with: Lance Armstrong. I like many sports, but what he has come through is just amazing. I bet he has some good stories to tell! |
| Favourite party game: Catchy kiss (the staff better watch out at this year's Christmas party then! - ed.). |
| Where you are when you get most of your inspiration or creative thoughts: Probably the pub...or the golf course. |
| Funny sayings you like to use: "Give it some clayppe". It's a Sunderland thing, I think, and "you live and learn". My Dad tells me I keep saying "so there you are" when I'm on air, but I don't realise when I'm doing it. He is my biggest critic but also one of my biggest supporters. |
| Proudest achievement: Getting the Sunderland commentator's job five years ago at BBC Radio Newcastle. I don't do it now, but at the time I felt on top of the world. Oh yes, and meeting my wife, Julia, and getting married on my 30th birthday is probably the highlight (although I have to say that really, or I could be in trouble!). |
| Where you go for quiet moments: The back garden or the golf course. I like canals and rivers for their tranquility. |
| Memories of teachers at school: My favourite teacher was a guy called Ronnie Guidi. He taught religious knowledge at Whitburn Comprehensive. He had a very dry and quick sense of humour. I still see my old PE teacher, Dave Peacock, every know and then. |
| Favourite playground game or rhyme: We played five-a-side at school. I was a mean hop-scotch player in junior school! |
| Any habits, annoying or otherwise: I pull hairs out of my face when I've missed them with the razor (urrrgh! - ed.). I also rub my nose a lot as well. |
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| E-mail Martin |
