We all love a quiz. It's virtually impossible to hear a quiz question without blurting the answer out loud, if you happen to know it. We spend our lives accumulating useless facts, information and trivia, most of which just sits quietly in our brains gathering dust, so it's very gratifying to be able to answer quiz questions and prove all that learning wasn't a complete waste of time. Right from the birth of commercial television, in the mid-1950s, quiz shows have been a staple of the nation's TV viewing habits. People of a certain age will remember Hughie Green's Double Your Money and Michael Miles with Take Your Pick, but, seven decades later, quiz shows are still going strong - The Chase and Pointless being two hugely successful current examples. The programmes have become more sophisticated and glitzy, the prizes have become bigger and better, but, ultimately, they are still rooted in the very simple premise of a question being asked and a person answering it either correctly or incorrectly, leading to reward or forfeit. This fascinating, amusing and well-researched book is a personal and affectionate guide to the evolution of the TV quiz show, through all the many changes over the years, leading to the ultimate game-changer, Who Wants To Be A Millionaire. The book doesn't stop there, but it does give a detailed insider's view of the most important quiz show ever created. Readers will wallow in nostalgia reading about Bullseye, Sale Of The Century and Blockbusters, and they will learn surprising facts about all the many quizzes we have watched over the years. Did you know that the format for BBC TV's Mastermind was based on its creator's experiences of wartime interrogation by The Gestapo?

Larry Grayson was extremely funny, highly likeable and much-loved. Those were sentiments felt not just by his millions of fans, but also by those who knew him personally. He was a complicated man who didn't become a star until well into his middle age, having worked for years as drag act Billy Breen. The peak of his popularity came in the early 1980s with Larry Grayson's Generation Game on BBC1, with regular viewing figures of over eighteen million. Larry Grayson's story is fascinating from beginning to end, and has never properly been told before. This extensively and painstakingly researched account of his life is aspirational, funny and heartbreaking in equal measure. "Written with affection and sensitivity, this long overdue biography tells the wonderful Larry's remarkable story." Julian Clary "He was an honest comic and he was funny. I think that's why everybody loved Larry Grayson." Lionel Blair "Larry had a wicked sense of fun and from many years in clubs and variety halls his timing was just impeccable. This fascinating account of his life story is like a rollercoaster ride." Chris Tarrant

This book, thanks to Ken’s wife, Lady Dodd, gives the first ever in-depth account of his astonishing story, and unravels ‘the other Ken Dodd’ – the fascinating, kind and complicated private man with whom she spent her life. Sir Ken Dodd was a national institution. He worked tirelessly as one Britain’s most popular comedians for a staggering seven decades. His five hour stage shows were legendary, and he was still performing these hilarious theatrical marathons right up to the age of ninety. Ken was the comedian’s comedian. Fellow pros idolised him and looked up to him as the guv’nor. He was also a talented ballad singer, and enjoyed a hugely successful chart-topping career in the 1960s. In fact his was the only name, apart from The Beatles, to appear in the top five best-selling singles of that iconic pop music decade. Despite his nationwide fame and his crazy, larger-than-life stage persona, he was actually a very private person, away from the limelight. A quiet, well-read, deeply religious thinker. He consciously separated ‘the two Ken Dodds’, as he referred to them, and always declined to cooperate with biographers, in order to keep the private Ken Dodd just that – private. This book, thanks to Ken’s wife, Lady Dodd, gives his many fans the first ever in-depth account of his astonishing story, and unravels ‘the other Ken Dodd’ – the fascinating, kind and complicated private man with whom she spent her life. If you liked Ken Dodd you will love this book. It will undoubtedly surprise and delight you.

In a celebrity-obsessed world can absolute celebrity fame and idolisation be exploited to gain absolute power... opening the gates of hell... ? At a worrying time when the once-clear line between celebrity stardom and political leadership on the world stage has become blurred, a handsome brooding Romanian street hustler emerges in Britain as a new messiah. Initially Serghei's goal is to become famous as a talented magician, but, when his Svengali-like manager convinces the public that Serghei's magic is real and he has God-given powers, then an explosive chain reaction is sparked, which cannot be stopped. Serghei's meteoric rise to fame turns into adulation and his charismatic charm encourages hero worship to the point of deification. Dark political forces spot the immense potential of this new messiah and underhandedly usurp his mass popularity for their own ends... lifting the lid on a Pandora's box which threatens British democracy...

This book, thanks to Ken's wife, Lady Dodd, gives the first ever in-depth account of his astonishing story, and unravels 'the other Ken Dodd' - the fascinating, kind and complicated private man with whom she spent her life. Sir Ken Dodd was a national institution. He worked tirelessly as one Britain's most popular comedians for a staggering seven decades. His five hour stage shows were legendary, and he was still performing these hilarious theatrical marathons right up to the age of ninety. Ken was the comedian's comedian. Fellow pros idolised him and looked up to him as the guv'nor. He was also a talented ballad singer, and enjoyed a hugely successful chart-topping career in the 1960s. In fact his was the only name, apart from The Beatles, to appear in the top five best-selling singles of that iconic pop music decade. Despite his nationwide fame and his crazy, larger-than-life stage persona, he was actually a very private person, away from the limelight. A quiet, well-read, deeply religious thinker. He consciously separated 'the two Ken Dodds', as he referred to them, and always declined to cooperate with biographers, in order to keep the private Ken Dodd just that - private. If you liked Ken Dodd you will love this book. It will undoubtedly surprise and delight you.