How much does he earn?: No 27: Michael Terence Aspel

Salary: Reputedly the highest paid presenter in British television.

Estimated pounds 1.6m contract for This Is Your Life. He signed a contract for Aspel and Company in 1991 worth pounds 533,000 a year - pounds 33,000 more than Cilla Black.

Age: 61

Perks: Beloved of housewives. Kissed by his long-term idol Elizabeth Taylor when she was a guest on Aspel and Company.

Hours: This Is Your Life runs 26 weeks a year. Michael Aspel claims he couldn't live without working every day.

Home: pounds 600,000 mock Tudor mansion in Claygate, Surrey; villa in Italy.

Education: Emanuel School, Wandsworth. His first job was as a teaboy in a publisher's office.

(Photograph omitted)