TV presenter Paul Crone's new book

By Cheshire Life on February 16th 2010

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There must have been 600 kids there to welcome me with their parents. I felt like Robbie Williams. I'd finished the last day of the appeal and you couldn't see Lymm Cross for people. Everyone was screaming and cheering. I felt like I had never felt before.'
Paul Crone's retelling of the high point of his career - the end of his Up the Amazon Appeal - doesn't sound like your average job and not your average day at Lymm Cross either. But then again, there is nothing average about this television presenter. The 47-year-old has become a staple of teatime viewing. He has bounced around on our television screens each night at different places around the region. The Granada Reports presenter has interviewed some of the biggest names in the public eye. He's grilled political figures like Gordon Brown, chatted with Coronation Street stars and interviewed Phil Collins several times. He even babysat for the Genesis star's children.
But it is the recollections and memories of Cheshire that figure highest. The generosity of the Cheshire public, and interviewing Take That front man Gary Barlow are all at the top of the list.
Paul, who attended a Cumbrian boarding school from an early age, said: 'Gary is the most grounded person I have ever met. He's so quick and witty and really nice. I thought we were going to die together once. We were both on a plane to Austria when we were filming for a documentary. We were about 20 minutes outside of Manchester and the plane developed engine trouble. I was thinking 'we're going to die here and no one will ever know because everyone will just talk about Gary Barlow.
'I remember him telling me about doing a gig in his early days too. He was told to park at the back and unload his stuff. At the end of the night he struggled getting his van away. He opened up the local paper the next day and there was a story about vandals wrecking the bowling green. Gary had parked on it and not realised because it was so dark.'
The stories from Paul's 25 year career come thick and fast. From writing scripts for Richard Madeley, as well as being his driver, throwing a custard pie in fellow Granada Reports presenter Lucy Meacock's face and fighting back the tears as more people turned out to support him.
But it is the numerous appeals he has spearheaded to raise money for charities, here and abroad, that have dominated his time. He has raised more than half a million pounds doing everything from walking miles per day to running several marathons. He also does after dinner speeches, all to raise money for charity.
'I just love it,' enthused Paul. 'I just can't believe how much the public get behind us to really make it all happen. For one appeal I was walking 20 miles a day with a bucket and people were pipping their horns for the whole day. I'd get lorry drivers who can't find space to stop so they'll drive miles up to the next roundabout and then turn around and come back.
'I had one copper coming down the road who stopped to give me a pound going through Frodsham and but then an hour later he came back and he'd been to the cash point to get more money out. I really could spend the whole day crying sometimes because of how supportive people are.'
Many more tales like these appear in his new book, Paul Crone: Taking the Mic which celebrates his 25 years in the business. Unsurprisingly, he will donate all profits made to the North West Air Ambulance, a charity he has ardently supported for years.
'I remember doing the Care in the Air Appeal which was for this charity. It costs £3.5 million a year to keep it in the air and it relies completely on voluntary contributions. It gets no government funding whatsoever.
'Anyone could need the air ambulance no matter who they are. Anyone who steps out of their front door could need them, that's why we need to keep fundraising.'
Paul is now preparing for his next challenge, to row across the English Channel with one of his producers, Stevie B.
'I couldn't have done any of these appeals anywhere other than the north west. They work because the people here are so special. This is going to be a big challenge but I know people will get behind us and support us every step of the way.
'People in Cheshire have been absolutely fabulous. They've always been ready to put their hands in their pockets and have helped to make the appeals as successful as they have been. I know they will be the same again.' 

Paul Crone: Taking the Mic, priced £9.99 is available to buy by calling the North West Air Ambulance Appeals Office on 0800 587 4570.

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