"I began my broadcasting career in pirate radio. Now people my age probably remember pirate radio and maybe even some of you who are a little younger.
"In I came, and I was interviewed, and I got a call from the editor... a man called Leo Enright. And Leo called me to say, 'Well, there's good news and there's bad news.' And I said, 'Well, OK, what's the good news?' 'Well, the good news is you've got the job,' he said. 'The bad news is we don't have any money.'
He continued: "I said, 'That's fine,' and he said, 'Look, we might get the money. We're trying to get the budget. If we do, I'll get back to you.'
"So a number of months passed - a second phone call. 'There's good news and there's bad news... The good news is... you've got the job,' and I said, 'That's great.'
"So, you can obviously imagine I was pretty crushed by this piece of information.
"But Leo did me a great favour. He recommended me to somebody he knew at the BBC in Belfast at Radio Ulster. I was approached by them and I got a job in Belfast.
"And after about six months, I got a further phone call from Leo to say 'We've got a vacancy and we're wondering, would you be interested in putting your hat in the ring?'
"And I said, 'Well Leo, I thought I was blacklisted because I was a pirate?' 'Oh,' he said. 'Don't worry about that, you've been laundered by the BBC!'
After that, he took the helm at News at One, presenting the programme throughout the Covid-19 pandemic.
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