The Centre of the Bed: An Autobiography

Joan Bakewell was born in Stockport in 1933, the daughter of an engineer, granddaughter of working-class artisans. She was the first in her family to go to university and only the second woman from her grammar school to attend Cambridge, where her circle included Frederick Raphael, Peter Hall, Michael Frayn, Mark Boxer and Jonathan Miller. Her long and illustrious career in broadcasting has included being the only woman presenter on BBC TV's Late Night Line Up, being Arts Correspondent for Newsnight, Chair of the BFI, and presenting series such as Heart of the Matter and My Generation.Following the publication of her autobiography THE CENTRE OF THE BED in 2003, she has published STOP THE CLOCKS and THE VIEW FROM HERE as well as the novels ALL THE NICE GIRLS and SHE'S LEAVING HOME. She was awarded a life peerage in 2010 and is President of Birkbeck, University of London.