My Mentor: Bel Mooney on Anthony Howard

'His journalistic instinct was impeccable. I learnt so much from his editing'

I met Anthony in 1971. He was presenting The World This Weekend on Radio 4 and my ex-husband Jonathan Dimbleby went to work for him.

I was on the legendary Nova magazine but in 1972, at 25, I decided that staff jobs weren't for me. I wanted more variety and was drawn to serious reportage. I was idealistic and thought that by writing articles about poverty and oppression you would change the world.

So I wrote a letter to Anthony Howard. He was already a very distinguished political journalist and editor of the New Statesman. I was a little 25-year-old wearing mini-skirts and I found him very daunting. But I knew I could write for him.

Whatever idea you put up, Tony was up for it. When you're as young as I was in that sort of high-powered journalism it was incredibly empowering.

His journalistic instinct was impeccable, and I learnt so much from his editing about how to be concise, and what the story actually was. I can remember carefully crafting my opening before getting the Tube to the New Statesman to hand it to him. I'd hide while he read it. He'd bellow, "Bel", and I'd scuttle in, and he'd say, "It starts three paragraphs down".

I adored him and he totally believed in me. He didn't think, here's some attractive girl who's just come from a women's magazine. He thought, there's a good writer.

He loved to find someone, identify they had talent, and bring it out. I went to his 70th last year and he made a joke about his stable of young men. I put my hand up and said, "You had girls too!"

The Invasion of Sand by Bel Mooney is published by Severn House this month, £9.99