the 5-minute Bill interview
28/04/2007 00:00 GMT

Posted by lisa

The following appears on The Independent's website at http://news.independent.co.uk/people/profiles/article2491759.ece:

The 5-Minute Interview: Bill Oddie, TV presenter, writer and conservationist

'I blame Bush (for Iraq) but at least he's an honest idiot'

Published: 28 April 2007

Oddie, 65, fronts Honeytastic Habitats, a campaign to make gardens bee friendly .

If I weren't talking to you right now I'd be...
  At home playing my guitar or playing new CDs.

A phrase I use far too often is...
  The F word. I use it counter-productively. If I complain on the phone and say it, they put the phone down.

I wish people would take more notice of...
  Wildlife. Appreciating the role of bees, for example . Without pollination we wouldn't have flowers.

The most surprising thing that ever happened to me was...
  Having a nervous breakdown. I had no idea I was susceptible.

A common misperception of me is...
  That I am a jolly, beer-drinking man. I hate excessive drinking.

I'm not a politician but...
  I wouldn't have invaded Iraq if I had been. I blame Bush, but at least he's an honest idiot. Blair has done so much damage to the image of telling the truth in politics.

I'm good at...
  Taking in the big picture on an issue.

But I'm very bad at...
  Practising anything.

The ideal night out is...
  Going out with my wife Laura, my daughters Kate and Bonnie, and we would go to hear my other daughter Rosie and her band playing at a club.

In moments of weakness I...
  Buy some new records.

You know me as a television presenter, but what I might have been is...
  A musician or a warden at a bird observatory.

The best age to be is...
  Mid thirties. You've acquired some skills and still got the energy to indulge them.

Elisa Bray