The 5-Minute Interview: Greg Dyke, Broadcaster and former BBC Director General

'I was surprised I was fired as director general of the BBC'

Greg Dyke, 59, is backing Ban Bullying At Work, a UK charity which expects over one million people to take part in a 10am minute of reflection on Ban Bullying At Work day tomorrow.

On bullying in the workplace...

I've never understood employers that allow bullying to go on. Sometimes they don't know. I've always believed in the simple message that people are more effective and work better if they feel valued by the people they work for than if they feel afraid of them.

If I weren't talking to you right now I'd be...

I'm in the car going to Birmingham. I'm doing a speech at a conference. I'm multi-tasking.

A phrase I use far too often is...

"I don't mean to be rude, but..."

I wish people would take more notice of...

What they say and do. Often people can be quite harmful to others.

The most surprising thing that ever happened to me was...

First, becoming director general of the BBC; second, being fired.

A common misperception of me is...

That I was Roland Rat's dad. It's something that was encouraged by The Sun many years ago.

I'm not a politician but...

I'm forever grateful that I went into television instead of politics.

I'm good at...

Letting people get on with their jobs. I'm a sort of broad-brush person, not a detail person.

But I'm very bad at...

Sticking to diets. I have the concentration level of a peanut.

The ideal night out is...

Sitting in a non-pretentious restaurant with mates or family and laughing the night away.

Elisa Bray