RICHARD Madeley is best known for presenting ITV’s This Morning show with his wife Judy Finnigan. The couple went on to front Richard and Judy on Channel Four. Born in Romford, Essex, he recently presented the ITV1 documentary ‘Madeley Meets The Squatters’ and plans further such programmes in the future. He is also an occasional host on Radio 2. Richard has also just completed his first novel ‘Some Day I’ll Find You’ which is published in the Spring.

What was your first car?

My first car was a 1966 registered Ford Anglia, in ‘Harry Potter blue’. I bought it for £250 in 1973. It was the basic-engine job, just under one litre of raw power. My sister had the 1,200 version and when I drove hers it felt like a Porsche compared to mine. But I was very fond of my little Anglia; even on the odd occasion it let me down it was absurdly easy to fix, like the time the starter motor sheared. An hour later I’d replaced it with a second hand one bought from a scrapyard. I never took it in for a service - those were the days when you could do all that yourself with one adjustable spanner, a multi-headed screwdriver and a pair of pliers.

How many times did it take to pass your test?

I passed first time at 17 in 1973 thanks to my driving instructor, Brian. He waited at the test centre like a nervous father-to-be, chain smoking while I navigated the streets of Hornchurch. When I got back and gave him the thumbs up he danced a little jig and took great pleasure in personally peeling off the L-plates and stuffing them in a bin. He taught me in an Escort 1100, Ford’s successor to the Anglia.

Who would be your ideal fantasy passenger and where would you go?

Keira Knightley. Wherever she liked.

What is your dream car?

The launch model of the Ford Mustang. My late father was a press officer at what was then Ford of Britain - you can see the connection now, can’t you? He was given a brand new left-hand drive Mustang to ‘run in’ for Prince Philip. These were the days when, if you over-revved a new car’s engine, you knackered it. They had to be babied for the first couple of thousand miles. We took the Mustang for a test drive from London to Shropshire, where my grandparents lived, and the attention the car attracted from start to finish was just incredible. Dad drove it to one of the new-fangled automatic car-washes in Shrewsbury and believe it or not, it was too wide to fit between the runners. The day before the car was due to be delivered to the Palace, our cat, Timmy, climbed in through the open driver’s window and threw up all over the dashboard. Dad was still cleaning it out at 3am.

How would you describe your driving style?

Confident and considerate. I give cyclists a wide berth and pedestrians the benefit of the doubt. I suppose I push my speed on motorways. When will we acknowledge our ‘national pretend speed limit’ for what it is and follow the French model – between 60 and 70 on urban motorways and 80-plus on the main inter-city stretches? But I am a keen advocate of 20mph limits on busy suburban side roads, especially near schools and shops. Thirty is simply too fast when there are lots of pedestrians milling around.

Tell me one driving anecdote from your past?

I once drove non-stop from Carlisle to Rome, apart from petrol stops and a kip in a rest area south of Lyon. When I got to the eternal city my body refused to unfold from the driving position and I walked around like Quasimodo for the whole of day one.

What is playing on your in car iPod or CD player at the moment?

John Mayer and Taylor Swift, which is appropriate because they have just split up acrimoniously - hence her last hit about why ‘we are never-ever-ever-EVER getting back together’. I think they are the most talented singer-songwriters to emerge in years.

What do you drive now?

A black Jaguar XJ diesel. Best car for the money in its class. I think it effortlessly out-performs its Mercedes and BMW rivals and looks fantastic – that Aston Martin front end and Bentley backside. When I took it to France two summers ago, just after it came out, gendarmes were pulling me over just to get a closer look. I think Jaguar took a tremendous risk in ditching the old XJ look that they had stuck with since the late ‘60s, but boy, did it pay off. And as Jaguar were briefly owned by Ford, I don’t think my dad will be turning in his grave.