It seems that Mr Schwarzenegger, 65, has had enough of being out of the media spotlight, bar the odd small film role or cameo, since leaving office as Governor of California in January 2011, after two terms. And so a blaze of publicity surrounds the release of his memoir, Total Recall: My Unbelievably True Life Story, which hits shops today. The title gives some clue to the furore he expects it to create.

He always said he'd be back…

Whether or not it is an attempt to rebrand himself for a return to Hollywood, there is no doubting the salacious nature of the book. It lays out Schwarzenegger's affair with his family's former housekeeper, Mildred Baena, which resulted in a son being born in 1997; as well as the break-up of his marriage to Maria Shriver last year. The book also details a "hot affair" with Brigitte Neilson, his co-star in the 1985 film Red Sonja.

Wow, anything else?

He says Shriver confronted him about the baby with Baena during a therapy session the day after he left office and he admitted to the affair. Schwarzenegger told 60 Minutes he "inflicted tremendous pain on Maria" and "unbelievable pain" on his four children with his ex-wife. He called it "the stupidest thing" he had done. The book also says Shriver opposed his run for Governor until her mother talked her around.