I have to admit that I don’t watch many films, unfortunately - at least far less than I would like to. Working for so long in television has kind of turned me away from going to the cinema - even if I did live near one - as the last thing I want to do after spending a day watching TV programmes is to watch a film. And I found it really grating that I find myself mentally trying to log the film shots, which means that I find it difficult watching a film just to watch the film, if that makes sense.

However, as I’m yet another person slowly building up a DVD collection, hopefully I’ll get to see all the films that I’ve wanted to see, but never got round to.

So what are my favourite films? In no particular order, Duck Soup by The Marx Brothers, Pirates of the Caribbean, Some Like it Hot, Pulp Fiction, The Ipcress File and Outlaw Josey Wales. They’re all great films for many different reasons.

 However, I must say that modern film makers could learn a lot by simply looking back at how films were made before the advent of special effects. Back in the golden era of Hollywood, they had to rely on great scripts, characterisation and acting - or at least huge sets in the case of Cleopatra and Gone With The Wind etc. Nowadays it’s all style over substance - as exemplified by The Matrix sequels and, to my mind, something has been lost from the silver screen. That’s why, in my opinion, Quentin Tarantino has been such a hit - his dialogue is absolutely superb.