1. Up and at it – what is your morning routine?
From Monday to Thursday I get up at 4.15am for Good Morning Ulster. I eat a lonely bowl of muesli with fruit and yoghurt and flick through the overnight headlines on my laptop. I leave the house before 5am, and, because there is no traffic at that time (Hallelujah!), I'm in Broadcasting House in a few minutes, researching and writing, ready to go on air at 6.30. It is a horribly early start but when I see the milk on the doorstep as I leave the house, I'm reminded that there are lots of people worse off than me.
2. What might you eat in a typical working day for....
Breakfast? Like the Hobbits, I have a second breakfast when I come off air which is usually toast or a bagel or croissant. Sometimes I'll fancy an egg or two as well.
Lunch? Lunch is nearly always soup, perhaps with cheese and crackers.
Evening meal? The main meal of the day is around 6.30pm. My wife, Sharon, is a really good cook and a creative one, so we eat a varied diet consisting of a range of different fish, meat and vegetarian meals.
3. Is nutrition important to you?
I'm not a fanatic about nutrition, but I try to achieve a balance of things that are good for me and things that aren't so good, like crisps and chocolate.
4. Are you a calorie counter?
If my belt gets a bit tight, I lay off the bad stuff for a couple of days.
5. Best meal ever?
I'm a huge fan of seafood, so maybe a creamy chowder, full of juicy bits, followed by giant prawns in a Thai style dish. I adore spicy food – Sharon says I'm addicted to chilli peppers. I think there are few meals that can't be enhanced by a dollop of hot sauce.
6. Do you have a guilty pleasure?
That would have to be home-made popcorn with coconut oil and, yes, you've guessed it, chilli salt.
7. Have you ever been on a diet? If so, how did it go?
As I said, if my belt gets tight, I just cut back on the fattening things, so it's not a structured diet as such.
8. Do you take health supplements?
I take supplement in occasional bouts but I can never remember to keep them up. I think I should be more disciplined about it.
9. Tee-total or tipple?
Definitely a tipple. I drink red wine, purely medicinally of course, and enjoy malt whiskey/whisky and well-aged rum.
10. Fruit or fry-up?
Brunch on a Sunday, as often as we can manage it, in the form of a delicious fry served up by Carol and Bobby in the Blue Bay Cafe in Dundrum.
11. Stairs or lift?
I usually take the stairs, except at 5am in Broadcasting House.
12. Do you have a daily exercise regime?
I walk and cycle three or four times a week, and I hike in the Mournes as often as possible. I hate gyms, though, and think people who jog should know that it's bad for the joints.
13. On a scale of one to 10, how fit do you think you are; how fit would you like to be?
It gets harder to take exercise as I get older, but I think I'd give myself a seven for effort. An eight would be great.
14. Best tip for everyday fitness?
Walk, walk, walk. Most people I know who reach a fit old age have been lifelong walkers.
15. Do you have a memory from school sport / PE days you would rather forget?
I was asked to try out for the school 1st cricket 11 and although I prided myself on having a good pair of hands, nerves made me drop three easy catches. I didn't make the team.
16. Did you ever have a health epiphany which made you change your lifestyle?
No, I've always been active, and I gave up serious smoking when I was 18.
17. Best health or lifestyle advice you were ever given and would pass on to others?
Keep on walking.
18. Who would you try to emulate in terms of fitness / attitude to life?
I suppose it would be ridiculous to want to be someone like Spurs' Harry Kane at this stage of my life. I was reading about a man of 85 who was still running marathons. That'll do me.
19. What time do you get to bed normally and do you think you get enough sleep?
I get to bed at 9.30pm on work nights with lights out at 10. No, I get nowhere near enough sleep.
20. Would you say you have a healthy attitude towards your own mortality?
I think I have a good attitude. My philosophy is to avoid the risks that are avoidable, and as for the rest, it's a case of fingers crossed.
