Here at Biteback we are just soooo glamorous, and what do you do in the evenings when you’re glamorous? You go to book launches. Obviously. So, last night, off we trooped to the launch of Craig Summers’ Bodyguard: My Life On The Front Line, at the Knightsbridge Barracks (you see what I mean? Knightsbridge = GLAMOROUS)
An excellent speech was given by the BBC’s Ben Brown, and we even had a comedy double act style speech by author, Craig Summers, and ghost writer, Tony Horne, as well as a cheeky chipping in from Biteback MD, Iain Dale.
So, what do you discuss when you’re at a book launch, in an army barracks, with an ‘ARD MAN like Craig? Football is obviously one of them, football hooliganism (and how BAD it is) is another and, most importantly, the non-football related content of the book, and some of the amazing, as well as difficult, experiences that Craig had as a security advisor.
Craig had one of the most dangerous jobs in television. His task? Keeping adventurous celebrities alive. Summers was the BBC's security adviser, a job which took him to war zones, scenes of natural disaster and big international sporting events, as well as on undercover operations involving child-trafficking, football hooliganism and narcotics. Using his extensive military experience – he served with the British forces in both the Falklands War in 1982 and the Balkans Conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina – he has been the right hand man, confidant and enforcer to many adventurous celebrities including Sir Ranulph Fiennes, Gary Lineker, John Simpson and Matthew Pinsent. In Bodyguard Summers talks extensively about these relationships and how he helps make demanding television look so easy to the viewer back home, demonstrating how his knowledge and experience have been vital in keeping BBC casualties to a minimum, a fact directly acknowledged by John Simpson, among others. From Kabul, to Gaza, to Zimbabwe, Summers has escorted and protected some of our biggest stars through testing and hazardous conditions, always remaining a stalwart, reassuring presence behind the camera. Bodyguard tells the unknown stories behind some of the biggest news and sports events of our time, from the inside out. This is not just another book about life in the danger zones; it is much, much more.