My Word

by Terry Christian

From the streets of Manchester to the television studios of London, this engaging tale is Terry Christian's autobiographical account of life behind the scenes at Channel 4's The Word . A show that is late-night blend of cutting-edge music and irreverent humor, The Word has won the hearts and scorn of millions of viewers. Taking no prisoners, Terry Christian presents a hugely entertaining account of the journey from a working-class childhood in Manchester to the heart of London's television world.

359 pages, Paperback

First published June 14, 2007

Reviews

[Darla Ebert · Rating 1 out of 5]

Just ok, kind of a "Plodder". Not understanding enough of the politics of Great Britain, some of the author's thoughts and arguments were lost on me. I was hoping more sharing about the people interviewed and there was some, but not quite enough. It would have been even better to have been able to read of more of Terry C.'s life and growing up years.

[Brendan Meehan · Rating 1 out of 5]

Awful, whst a waste of money

[Kalwinder Dhindsa · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great read. A real page turner. Take his word for it.

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable read including many of the artists who were interviewed on the show,acts who appeared and behind the scenes stories.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yes, the reverse snobbery grates for a while, before it becomes almost a running gag. In fact, I found myself searching hard for some sort of clue as to whether the author was speaking tongue-in-cheek or not, as yet another episode was blamed on somebody being a Southern, public school type. Terry Christian is brutal in his assessment of his own insecurities; out of your comfort zone, being treated like an idiot and talked down to is a horrible experience and it's a shame that he looks for such easy answers to his bogeymen. Arseholes are arseholes; some are even from the North and working class.

But I warmed to the bloke immensely. I was usually coming back from the pub when The Word was on, but this isn't at all a 'you had to be there' read; I'd happily join the man for a pint and an anecdote. You have to admire somebody who is so honest - probably still career-wreckingly honest - about the utter moonbattery of his own industry. It won't win the Booker, as all the judges are middle-class southern public school types, but four stars from me.

[Godzilla · Rating 2 out of 5]

I only picked this up because it was cheap in Fopp. I can see why now. It's not particularly well written, with repetition being a key element of complaint.

I had no strong views about Terry Christian before I started this book: he always seemed a little smug, but stuck to his guns in the face of conflict and stroppy celebs.

However he does have one HUGE chip on his shoulder about the class system within TV land. This became boring after a while, especially as he tends to generalise, merely reflecting the crime he accuses the public school cronies of committing in the first place!

There's some good behind the scenes stuff and background as to how things developed, however there was always a nagging little voice in my ear saying "Really Terry? Are you sure that's 100% right?"

Living in Manchester I could relate to a lot of his stories about the area he grew up in.

Overall a quick read, with some good insights, but slightly too repetitive on certain issues.

[Leo · Rating 2 out of 5]

Riddled with spelling and grammatical errors... Did anyone actually edit this? So off-putting I gave up after 20 pages.