A Vine of the times

Add to this a reputation as a shrewd political reporter who some people said was too aggressive to take on Jimmy Young's popular Radio 2 show.

So imagine my surprise when this polite and affable chap is shown into a conference room at Basingstoke College of Technology to give a talk on business relationships with the media, and seems genuinely interested in everyone around him.

Jeremy Vine looks the epitome of a hard-nosed reporter. He's tall, wearing a smart dark suit, a white shirt with light blue patterned lines and orange flecks with a navy tie. The combination works, and with his rimless glasses he looks nothing short of 100 per cent professional.

Then he tells me he's an avid Chelsea fan and so was his taxi driver tonight. By all accounts he's been chatting about the team's players throughout his London to Basingstoke commute... and something of Jeremy's natural warmth and personality suddenly shines through.

Since January 2003, Jeremy has been hosting his own weekday lunchtime show on Radio 2 - the former Jimmy Young Show. At the same time he also began presenting The Politics Show on Sunday mornings on BBC1, which replaced On the Record, presented by John Humphrys.

Despite years of experience at the BBC, on respected programmes such as Today on Radio 4 and Newsnight, this was still a big step for Jeremy, and his success was not guaranteed.

He says: "When you launch two shows, you get a lot of attention and comments in reviews. Some of it is good, and some of it is bad. With the radio show I was quite apprehensive, but actually, as it's turned out, the audience is still strong.

"Everybody seems very happy with it and, incredibly, we never really had a blip. I thought there would be some moment when we lost a lot of people, but we didn't. I think that's because presenters can get very big-headed and think that people listen to them, but actually they listen partly to the station because they like the station sound.

"Radio 2 is just at that moment where it's not quite doing everything for everyone, but a lot of things for a lot of people. It's very popular."

Jeremy modestly states that listening figures are where Jimmy Young left them at 5.5million, although, in truth, they have risen above that to 5.7million.

He tells me that, shortly before taking over the radio show, he disguised himself to attend An Evening with Jimmy Young to find out his "magic ingredient".

"I had never met him so I put on a false moustache and a pair of rather large and peculiar spectacles, sat quite low in the seat and listened to the whole thing.

"At one point a very elderly woman stood up and denounced me for being too aggressive and said it was all a disgrace. I didn't get found out, but I did think I was going to be lynched in the future."

The BBC made Jeremy's new radio show a "top 12 priority", which meant it was advertised by the corporation.

He says: "What I didn't realise was that the BBC has poster sites all around the country. I woke up one morning and my ugly mug was all over them. I think I had my face on more billboards than Saddam Hussein. It was absolutely shocking."

It is now more than a year since he starting presenting the show, and I ask if he introduced any changes to the programme.

He replies that some minor adjustments had been made, such as making the health hour more specific, and adds: "I think the programme has got a bit of extra pace to it, but I hope that the values of the new programme are the same as the old one.

"It's entertaining but we take the news seriously."

Talking about the BBC, Jeremy says: "I think it's a wonderful organisation. It's been good to me, as a member of staff. I have had to work very hard, but to go from watching the collapse of John Major's government and literally, two weeks later, doing a piece from the edge of the Sahara Desert, is amazing. And if it all goes wrong I can go and run transmitters from the Outer Hebrides."

Commenting on the BBC post-Hutton, Jeremy is defensive of the organisation he loves.

"Clearly we have taken a hit over the Hutton enquiry. We are in a period where we need to be strong. We have got a very good acting director general, Mark Byford, and I think we are stabilising at the moment. What's good about all this is it's clear that the public cares about the independence and impartiality of the BBC."

Jeremy began working for the BBC back in 1987, and, after 17 years reporting on the likes of Mafia scams in Italy and South African police brutality, he has also dealt with life's more bizarre moments, such as standing on Blackpool beach waiting to race the now-disgraced Conservative politician Jeffrey Archer.

Jeremy says: "I said on Breakfast News that the Conservative party was getting old and was looking 'knackered', or words to that effect. Archer got very upset and charged on the set and said 'I'll take you on the beach any time', which worried me because he was a sprinter in his past. But I had to take up the challenge.

"He said 'Three o'clock on the beach tomorrow afternoon', but he didn't turn up. We called him and his office said he couldn't come down as he was too tired. The next morning I'm on Breakfast News again, and someone says 'Archer's arrived in a tracksuit and he's furious'.

"He said I was due down on the beach at eight o'clock and I hadn't shown up. But he'd had his chance. I turned up at the appointed time. I had to leave by the back exit at the hotel. I couldn't face the confrontation!"

Jeremy, 38, is happily married to wife Rachel and they are expecting their first baby in two weeks. When I ask him about the forthcoming happy event, he confirms: "Yes. My Mrs is large at the moment," and when I ask about his commitments so close to the due date, he replies: "Well, this particular evening, I did say there may have to be an emergency rip cord in case of a contraction. But I've just spoken to her and, so far, we have peace on the Western Front. I've got my phone on just in case - communications are up with London."

After his exploits in Africa, as well as reports from Siberia, the former Yugoslavia and the Middle East, I ask him if there is anywhere else he wants to go.

"I haven't even really started yet," he retorts. Then he muses: "The reporter mentality is this. . . reporters just want to get out of the studio and onto the road. They want to meet people and see stories happening. After a while they get tired and become presenters, and it's great fun. But there's always a part of you that hankers after the road. You have always got that tension.

"And I'm nesting now you see," he says with a slightly dreamy look in his eye. "I can't go ploughing all around the world."