Going Out Live — Mark Lawson

Mark Lawson's second novel is narrated by Richard Fleming, host of Fleming Faces - a popular TV talk show - and UK today, a drive-time radio slot. Intercut with Fleming's story are interviews from the present day with his friends and colleagues, who are taking part in a documentary about some clearly terrible event which took place on his television show and ended his career. So from the beginning, where we see Richard Fleming in his role as successful TV celebrity, we are aware that something, some time, will go horribly wrong. As the story unfolds, Richard's troubles stack up: he is estranged from his daughters from a previous marriage; a canny female journalist of a certain age stitches him up, resulting in a tabloid expose; he has sex with a young researcher who is not all that she appears; he is getting hate-mail from not one but two stalkers; and there are rumours about his frequent tripes to the lavatory and constant cold. As his ratings are falling, his blood pressure is rising . . .