My Chequered Career

Steve Rider has been prominent in televised sport for over 30 years, for many years presenting the BBC biggest sports programmes - Grandstand, Sportsnight and BBC Sports Personality of the Year - as well anchoring coverage of Formula 1 and the Olympic Games. After leaving the BBC, he anchored ITV's Formula 1 coverage from 2006 to 2008. He is now part of the Sky Sports team, presenting his Formula 1 Legends series.

Starting off in motorsport, making a documentary about the Lotus Formula 1 team in 1978, the year that Colin Chapman's team won the World Championship with Mario Andretti. In the studio with Frank Williams, after his disabling injuries, when Nigel Mansell's left-rear tyre famously exploded in the Australian GP of 1986, costing Mansell and Williams the World Championship. The disaster of the first 'grid walk', hosted by Rider - and subsequently such a feature of TV coverage with Martin Brundle. Rider's awe of Senna: "Ayrton Senna and Seve Ballesteros were the greatest sportsmen I've interviewed." Senna's death at Imola in 1994: nine hours of broadcasting that day and lead item on the BBC's evening news. Working with the troublesome James Hunt on the commentary team, including the day he didn't show up - which gave Martin Brundle his first chance in the commentary box. A memorable day with George Harrison for a documentary - and a unique chance to hear the Beatle's unpublished song about Formula 1: "It was dreadful." New perspectives and absorbing anecdotes on many of the sport's headline stories over the past 35 years.