VETERAN broadcaster Stuart Hall, the man who turned slapstick "It's a Knock Out" into cult TV, remains one of life's real jokers.

The mellow voiced baker's son, who once had a clock museum in Bolton and who now makes soccer reports sound like Shakespeare, has a new book out "Heaven and Hall -- A Prodigal Life" (BBC Books, £14.99).

At the age of 70, he's as active as ever -- in big demand as a speaker, playing sports and even scuba diving in the Maldives.

Seldom, he says, does he have time on his hands -- despite the fact that he's an expert on old clocks and an avid collector of antique and unusual pieces.

They used to be on show at the Last Drop Village but, when the room was wanted for an extension, he moved his collection to the balcony of the St George's Craft Centre in Bath Street, Bolton.

It never attracted the same number of visitors there and the collection is now, says Stuart, "scattered around".

It was akin to catching a hoverfly, but when the BEN finally managed to anchor the man down for a few minutes, he revealed some fascinating snippets about his colourful life.

They include one you won't find in the book. His earliest memory, he revealed, was the stale beer and sawdust aroma of a Blackpool pub where his Irish grandparents took him as a small boy. "They couldn't take me in, so they left me tethered in the entrance while they had a few drinks."

The person who had the greatest influence on his adult life was Barney Colehan, the BBC producer who dreamed up programmes like Have a Go, It's a Knock Out and The Good Old Days. "He was inspirational."

Stuart now lives in Wilmslow, but some of his heart is still in his native Hyde, he says.

Although he confesses he smokes "rather too much" and enjoys wine, he tries to stay fit still by playing tennis four times a week, the occasional football match, and swimming. And he says he's planning to at least reach the same age as his mother Mary who has turned 90 and is so proud of her lad that she even keeps the uniform he wore on national service half a century ago.