Mark Carney reveals how much money he’s got in his wallet to school children

The Governor of the Bank of England told children that the toughest day at his job so far was the night the UK voted to leave the EU

Mark Carney, governor of the Bank of England, has given a rare insight into his personal life, confessing his favourite TV show, his dream job and how much money he is carrying in his wallet.

He made the admissions as he answered questions from a group of schoolchildren from 11 to 18 years old, during a quizz held at Whitley Academy in Coventry, as part of the BBC school report.

When asked about how much money he was carrying in his wallet, Carney admitted he only had £40.

He confessed that if he had all the money in the UK he would spend it all on chocolate and music.

One of the first questions Carney was asked was whether he had any nicknames in his youth.

"I was called 'Carnival' or 'Carnage'. I liked 'Carnage' a little better than 'Carnival'. I think it seemed a little more manly, I guess, at the time," he said.

He admitted “The Great British Bake off” – the popular cooking programme that will be shown on Channel 4 from 2017 – was his guilty pleasure TV programme.

If he could not be Governor of the Bank of England, Carney said he would dream of being an ice hockey goalie.

Answering more serious questions about which Prime Minister he prefers to work with, Carney insisted that David Cameron and Theresa May are “both very professional and easy to work with”.

Carney told children that the toughest day of his time at the Bank of England so far was the night the UK voted to leave the EU.

“I took a 2 hour nap at midnight. Then got to office at 3.30 am. My reaction was to make sure our plan was put in place,” he said.

“I felt a tremendous responsibility. To make sure we got it right,” he added

On the result of the EU referendum, Carney said there will now be opportunities for Britain to develop deeper ties with countries including Canada, Australia and a number of other emerging markets.

“Most countries want to trade with the UK and there are a number of countries including Canada, Australia, a number of the big emerging markets, who I’m quite confident will want to have deeper trading relationships with the UK, because of what the UK has to offer in business, in services, in manufacturing, in design, in culture, in financial services,” Carney said.

8 things we learned about Mark Carney when schoolchildren grilled him on TV:

- Do you prefer cats or dogs?

“Dog’s but I have a cat. I have been out-voted in the household”

- What was your nickname when you were young?

"I was called 'Carnival' or 'Carnage'. I liked 'Carnage' a little better than 'Carnival'. I think it seemed a little more manly, I guess, at the time"

- What is your dream job, it can’t be the one you’re doing?

“Ice hockey goalie, NHL”

- What TV programme is your guilty pleasure?

“Bake off”

- What is your favourite film?

“Gallipoli”

- How much money are you carrying on you right now?

“I know I have a new fiver in my pocket but I have about £40 in my bag”

- What is your favourite food?

“Pizza”

- Are you spender or saver?

“At the moment saver”