Voice of the nation

As far as Children in Need is concerned, the nation’s favourite DJ has the Midas touch. But it’s wife Helen who has the last word in the Wogan kitchen 

Sir Terry Wogan is a national treasure – as much a part of British life as roast beef and wet summers. Despite reaching his 70th birthday, Radio 2’s TOGmeister remains our favourite breakfast DJ, with nearly eight million listeners. His sarcastic commentary is still the reason we watch Eurovision, and after nearly 30 years of appealing for Children in Need, he’s still helping to raise millions. No wonder he’s happier in a studio than in a kitchen!

What does the man who wakes up the nation have for breakfast?
I make myself a nice cup of coffee with foamy milk. I’ve got one of those machines George Clooney promotes – they’re fantastic! Then, this morning for instance, I had an orange, a peach and a banana.

Three of your five-a-day while most of us are still asleep!
I have quite a healthy diet, but I know several people who’ve never touched a vegetable in their life.

Do you venture into the kitchen much?
I don’t at all – my wife, Helen, is a terrific cook and doesn’t want me in there. It’s woman’s work anyway, along with sewing, washing-up, keeping the house clean, having babies…

What are Helen’s specialities?
A wonderful duck with Bordelaise sauce, marvellous bacon-wrapped monkfish with Dijon mustard… she can do anything. She’s the luckiest woman in Ireland because she snagged me, and she did that by being a better cook than any other girl I’d taken out!

So the way to your heart is through your stomach?
Absolutely! I’m very keen on food – we’re a foodie family.

But you’re not giving Gordon Ramsay a run for his money.
I’m not – Gordon Ramsay is an eejit! I have no wish to go round effing and blinding at people. I can do a fry-up and various things – you’re an eejit if you can’t. I bring Helen a breakfast of bacon and egg in bed sometimes. They say you should breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and sup like a pauper. That’s rubbish. You should eat like a king all of the time!

Especially when you’re a Sir…
You must get up off your knees!

Do you watch what you eat?
I’ve a problem with weight, yeah. I’m never going to be Brad Pitt. But who needs a six-pack? It’s a girlie thing!

What’s your idea of food hell?
Bad mashed potatoes with blue bits in them! Also, in France, we went into a bistro and saw calf’s head vinaigrette on the menu. And there’s something in Spain called cocochas – hake cheeks. They’re the only things I’ve said no to.

And food heaven?
The 19th-century writer Sydney Smith said, ‘Eating foie gras to the sound of trumpets.’ For me, it’s eating my wife’s crispy-skinned duck to the sound of the Brighouse & Rastrick Brass Band.

You’ve no thoughts of retiring?
Not really. It’s no strain, even in my advancing years, to get up at 5.20am and do my radio show – it’s such fun. I’d like to think I could get off the beach before the tide comes in. There’s nothing more pathetic than seeing people on TV who were wonderful performers in their prime, but are looking a bit slow now.

You’re coming up to 30 years with Children in Need.
Yes – back in 1978 and 1979 I used to do a 15-minute appeal and raised £30-40,000. Then the producer had the idea of doing a television spectacular based on the American model to see if we could raise more. We did – we raised £1 million in 1980.

Why has it continued for so long?
It’s the people’s charity. People band together throughout the year to do things. Only this morning, I had somebody say they’d done a bicycle ride in the nude. And we’ve got the best-known charity icon – Pudsey, our dear old bear. We raised a record-breaking amount last year: nearly £37 million. We’re well over the £400 million mark now, and hopefully we’ll get our half billion this year. It’s more than seven hours of television, but I still enjoy every single minute – although I wonder if I’ll last till 2am!

Children in Need returns to BBC1 on 14 November. For details on how you can help, go to www.bbc.co.uk/pudsey