Where do you live and why?
Ravenscourt Park because it’s incredibly friendly and has great parks, primary schools and pubs.
Boris Johnson is someone who the public feels they know a lot about already. What inspired you to write his biography?
I worked with him and knew that while people perhaps knew quite a lot about him, virtually no-one understood him.
How has he reacted to the book?
I’m sure he’s half-flattered and half-wishing that I hadn’t come up with so much interesting material.
Where is the most productive place for you to write?
In my wonderful shed at the end of the garden and at my mum’s house.
What is your most memorable moment of working with Boris Johnson in the ‘90s?
There are so many – but one is being asked by his wife what he was really like and worrying about what to say.
What is the most inspirational place you have discovered through your work as a journalist?
Iceland in the winter, when I was doing a travel piece. Skimming over a snowy plain on a dog-pulled sled, with steam rising all around from the active volcanoes was like a dream and never to be forgotten.
What’s in your fridge at the moment?
Virtually nothing. Time to do a shop – but with sons nothing lasts for long.
How do you relax?
Gardening, chatting with friends and cycling with my family.
What were the last three places you visited for your holidays?
A lovely hotel in Rhodes, Calella on the Costa Brava and a wonderful remote and wild stretch of coast in Normandy.
What don’t you miss when you’re away?
Sirens.
What are you most proud of and why?
Writing a book that changed the debate about Boris and made political biography a gripping, engaging and often funny read for people not normally interested in politics.
What could you not live without?
My family and chocolate.
What is your life motto?
Keep a steady nerve.
