Brian Johnston

Possibly the most distinctive voice in British broadcasting, Brian Johnston was best known as the jovial, chocolate-cake-eating "Johnners" of the BBC's Test Match Special team. But in a 48-year career at the microphone, he was also a commentator for royal weddings and other state occasions, a live reporter of crazy charades for In Town Tonight , and the presenter of 733 editions of Down Your Way. This biography, which draws on unpublished sources including Johnston's diaries, reveals him as a man of versatility and courage, and shows that he had a serious side, while doing justice to the triumphant sense of fun for which he is remembered.