I Should Have Been at Work - Hardcover

For 30 years Des Lynam has been the face of British sport. An unparalleled broadcaster, he has presented all the major sports events for the BBC and ITV. One of the most famous and best-loved men in the country, his popularity goes hand in hand with a slightly raffish reputation. For the first time this very private man tells his own story.

Famously guarded about his private life, Des will set the record straight and talk about his relationships, his childhood days in Ireland, as well as his early marriage and life in 70s London.

Des takes us through his 30 years at the BBC from a reporter on local radio to the drama of his top-secret move to ITV which was front page news on every national newspaper. The World Cups, the Olympic Games including his reporting of the Israeli shootings in Munich. Following Muhammad Ali to his fights in Zaire, Malaysia and the USA. The Grand National that never was, the IRA threatened race. The programmes he turned down, the ones he wished he had!

Des offers a candid account of life behind the scenes at the national broadcaster, the people he has met, the triumphs, the disasters. In the unique role of top presenter on both main channels, he tells of his 5 years at ITV, his reasons for going there and why his decision was justified but in other ways disastrous.

One of the most long-awaited autobiographies of recent years, this book gives a frank and opinionated insight into the man behind the myth.

Desmond Lynam (born1942 in Ennis, Ireland) started in broadcasting as a freelance in radio. He quickly joined BBC radio in London, originally specialising in commentating on boxing, and went on to anchor Sports Report on BBC Radio 2. He later moved to television, presenting Grandstand and Match of the Day on the BBC for many years, and also fronted BBC coverage of Wimbledon, World Cup football and the Olympic Games.
Lynam defected to ITV in 1999, where he presented their flagship football programmes, including coverage of the FA Premier League and UEFA Champions League. He decided to retire from television presenting after the Euro 2004 football championships. Soon afterwards the BBC announced that Lynam would present a new weekly radio programme, Des Meets... , on BBC Radio Five Live from August 2004.