The 5-minute Interview: Keith Chegwin, Presenter and actor

'I'd like to be a bus driver, so I could meet the public'

Keith Chegwin, 51, first appeared on television at the age of 10. He has gone on to perform in the West End and has hosted shows on BBC Radio 1. A regular presenter on GMTV, he is promoting National Chip Week, in the second week of February

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

In my own studio at home, editing or recording something.

A phrase I use far too often...

The one I always use which makes my mum go mad is "I can't tell you".

I wish people would take more notice of...

I wish people would take me more seriously. They always think I'm joking around. And I wish politicians would listen to the general public. They should be travelling by bus with the rest of us.

The most surprising thing that happened to me...

There are so many. Once when I was doing a live show I had to do a bit of abseiling. I leaned back and suddenly went down. Then the guy said: "Let's check you're all strapped in properly."

A common misperception of me is...

Everybody always thinks they know me but they don't.

I am not a politician but...

If I were I'd use public transport, put myself on the minimum wage and take more notice of the elderly people up and down the country. I'd get out and down to grass roots.

I'm good at...

I think I'm reasonably creative with ideas. I like to push back boundaries in the media and the like.

I'm very bad at...

Phoning people back.

In moments of weakness I...

Tell a gag. I collect joke books.

You know me as a presenter but in another life I'd have been...

A bus driver. I like working with the general public. The money's not great, but you'd get to meet people.

The best age to be is...

The age I am now – it's not too old to do most things but I'm wise enough not to make too many mistakes.

In a nutshell, my philosophy is this:

Love life, live life, enjoy life.

Alice-Azania Jarvis