n The man with cod Shakespearean blood in his literary veins reaches the giddy heights of fame tonight with an Omnibus propgramme devoted solely to the ego that is Lord Archer of Weston-super-Mare. Joining a pantheon of cultural giants Jeffrey - as his friends and family are permitted to call him of an intimate evening - is paid homage by a camera crew and an entire hour of respectful broadcasting.
n Politician, athlete, bankrupt, errant husband, storyteller - future Lord Mayor of London? Who knows what the next feather in Lord Archer's plumage will be. He's lived a colourful life of vast setbacks coupled with vast setbacks and irritatingly manages to bounce back from the pits just as you've written him off. Witness the embarrassing farrago after the reputed transaction of #2000 from a benevolent Mr Archer to a grateful working lady at a London train station. Mr Archer emerged with nothing worse than flushed cheeks and resumed his novel writing careera.
n Since the publication of Not A Penny More, Not A Penny Less in 1975, Archer joined the ranks of international airport novelists. Churning out a library of the blockbusters consistently, Archer has attracted a number of high-profile fans as well as detractors. Former PM John Major falls into the first category. Of his Tory chum he said: ''Jeffrey weaves a tale that people like to listen to. Fashionable people sometimes like to be disparaging about his books but from one end of the world to the other people enjoy his storytelling.'' Jeffrey repaid the compliment by dedicating one book ''To John and Norma''.
n His latest tract, The Eleventh Commandment, was researched partly at the Tory party conference in Blackpool and partly on the New York campaign trail with Mayor Rudolph Giuliani. He has apparently been described over the years as ''overbearing'', ''rude'' ''intimidating'' and ''charming'', depending on the interviewer's political persuasion, sex, and degree of sycophancy.
Jeffrey Archer is on Omnibus on BBC1 at 10.50pm.
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