THIS BOOK RELIES on photographs, and therefore would not have been possible without the photographers to capture these moments. Thank you all. Much of my research has involved looking through boxes and boxes of photos that have been sent to me over the years, or searching online for the perfect shot to illustrate a story. This unearthed many photos I had either forgotten about or never seen before. It was a joy to do and brought back countless happy memories.

In deciding what stories to tell, I adopted a basic rule: if I couldn’t find a relevant photo, the tale would not be included. This has meant, inevitably, many people who otherwise would have appeared in these pages have unfortunately been left out. To all of you, I apologize.

Thank you to David Wilson, whose help in putting this book together has been invaluable. We began the process in February, while I was in Puerto Rico and David in London. Over the course of a month we spoke for over twenty hours on Viber, before my return to the UK. It was a strange sensation, therefore, when we did finally meet – like seeing an old friend whom I had never met before.

Thanks also to my manager Ian Wilson, who has been enormously helpful in reading the text and either confirming (or denying!) the accuracy of the stories since he and I first began working together in the 1970s.

Another invaluable collaborator is Cora (my housekeeper). Without the lovely lunches, coffees and teas she supplied, the writing and editing would have been a far less enjoyable experience.

I’d also like to thank my golfing pals at Wentworth for providing some much-needed breaks from working on the book. I enjoyed our rounds together, regardless of whether the golf itself was good, bad or indifferent. Thank you Russ (Abbot), Keith, Conner, Kenny and Karim, who is still my bodyguard. Don’t go looking for any photos of yourselves, though. I see enough of you as it is!

My publishers, Transworld, have been extremely supportive. Thank you to the whole team there, and in particular Andrea Henry, Sheila Lee and Helena Gonda for all your help.

A huge thanks to everyone who has supported my career over the years. An entertainer is nothing without an audience. Thank you for being there.

Finally, my biggest thanks go to my family, for putting up with my endless questions on people, places and dates as I worked on the text. And, of course, for so much more.