‘I borrowed a jeweller’s tiara for Elton John’s party’

Do you use cash, debit cards or credit cards?

Sometimes cash, but these days mainly credit cards. It’s not in my nature to go into debt so I pay the account off every month so it doesn’t cost me any more. I only use my credit card if I know I’ve got the money to pay it off with.

I use it to get air miles on my AmEx and every now and then you get a free companion voucher, where you pay the taxes on your flight but get the flight free. My youngest daughter is in Australia so if I can get part of the flight in air miles that’s a considerable saving.

Do you have Isas?

Yes. Now with the coronavirus crash we’re seeing all investments plummeting so I’m trying not to think about it. You have to take a long-term philosophical view.

What about a pension?

I’ve worked in various places so a few years ago I got somebody to help me rationalise it all into one pot. Probably for half my career I was self-employed so had a self-employed pension early on. It was the common sense instilled in me by my father.

Have you invested in property?

Yeah, I’m a great believer in living in your money. Each time I’ve moved I’ve stretched myself to the limit, knowing that eventually you grow into it financially with a bit of a stretch to enjoy the pleasure of having a nice home.

Eventually it becomes easier to pay. It’s also a material asset which, if it came to it, I could sell and downsize. When your money’s in the bank you can’t enjoy it.

I’d always get the maximum mortgage I could possibly afford to climb the property ladder. I don’t think my children will be able to do that because we live in a different kind of economy.

What are the best and worst things you’ve ever bought?

I’ve learnt it’s often a mistake to buy clothes in a sale because they look like a bargain. The reality is you end up not wearing them and eventually they end up in the charity shop.

The best: I have a property in a French ski resort which has given my family and friends so much pleasure over the years.

What’s the most extravagantly you’ve splashed out?

When I was controller of BBC One I was invited to Elton John’s white tie and tiara party. I didn’t have a tiara. I managed to borrow one from a jeweller’s and did buy a very expensive dress (thousands of pounds) because I felt I had to look the part. I eventually got my money’s worth as I’m still wearing it 10 years later.