How did you get to be a TV quiz question setter?

When I worked in Manchester I took in two lodgers - both television researchers. I was working for British Airways then.  Knowing my passion for cryptic crosswords , one of them introduced me to a producer at Tyne Tees TV and I ended up working on 'Crosswits' for the next seven years. One show led to another until it became a full time job.

Is it hard work coming up with questions all the time?

I keep trying  to operate to a Jeffrey Archer regime when working.  He writes for two hours then has two hours off. In reality I have much shorter breaks, doing something very different and absorbing like the gym or  gardening. I'm not good at time-management and sometimes end-up working unsociable hours.

On average, how many questions can you generate a day?

Depends on the show.  Question setting is a creative process and not as some think a mechanical one. Each quiz show has its own 'feel',  and the individuality of its presenter to consider. If the producer is after brief, quick-fire stuff then perhaps 50 - 100 is attainable.  This would most likely be 50 - because one would try to get some interesting fact into the question whilst keeping it as short as possible.

Do you have any favourite types of questions?

In Grand Slam numbers and logic are easier to write than General Knowledge. My favourite is anagrams, because they're not used much nowadays and they're fun to write.

Is question setting a lucrative business? Is it your full time job?

Yes, but like a lot of work not as lucrative as it once was.  No, I now have to supplement question-setting with other work.

Where do you get your ideas from?

I have a fairly good reference library of my own and of course now there's the Internet.

What is your favourite quiz show (aside from Grand Slam of course)?

Favourites of those I've written for are 'Crosswits' -for its cryptic crossword clues, and 'Wipeout' for its interesting lists and boguses. Favourites to watch would be 'Countdown' and 'Millionaire'.  One I wished I'd worked on but didn't  would be 'Every Second Counts'

How would you rate yourself personally at quizzing?

Not good! It would be dangerous to memorise facts in my job.  I'd be quite good at swotting up a specialist subject because I could retain the info for a few weeks.  Otherwise, my memory is pretty bad.  Sport is my Achilles heel.

Do you quiz in your spare time?

Does a plumber ever fix his own plumbing for the sheer pleasure of it? Not likely! 

Who's your tip to win Grand Slam?

D'you know my memory is so bad I can't remember the names