I have been retired for ten years now but after a lifetime around showbiz I still occasionally put my foot back in the water.

I am currently working towards finishing a large, well-illustrated book on the once famous MGM British Studios that stood off Elstree Way in Borehamwood for several decades. It closed in 1970 and was demolished a couple of years later although the iconic white clock tower survived until the mid 1980s.

The buildings were replaced by a cold storage plant which ironically is itself about to be demolished. I have been collecting material for decades and over the years have interviewed many of the stars and staff who worked there.

You may not have heard of the studio but I bet you will know many of the productions made there. If you are a television fan of the 1960s, think of Danger Man, The Prisoner and UFO. If you are a film fan, think of Ivanhoe, The Inn Of Sixth Happiness, The Dirty Dozen and Where Eagles Dare, to name just a handful.

This has been a labour of love for me as it was the largest and perhaps the Rolls Royce of film studios in this country. It was, for instance, 15 times bigger than the current Elstree Studios. The backlot today is a large housing estate. MGM sold the site for less than £2,000,000 in 1970 but today a single terraced three-bedroom home goes for more than £500,000.

Anyway, once finished and published, all the profits will go to two volunteer groups close to my heart: Elstree Screen Heritage, of which I am chairman and the Borehamwood Museum, of which I am a trustee. I had a wonderful life around showbiz and it is time to give back and repay my luck.

I am amazed still to be remembered and the other week Channel 5 News phoned me up and asked if they could interview me about the death of Star Wars actor Peter Mayhew, who played Chewbacca. It was very flattering but I only met him twice so what could I say other than a lot of flannel and I have no desire to be a 'rent a quote' . It also meant being taken to London to pre-record the interview, which would probably result in about 30 seconds on air. I am not as fit as I once was so I declined.

The odd thing was that I think I last met Peter when I was a guest of a Star Wars event at the Watford Colosseum many years ago. I remember having lunch with my old mate Dave Prowse, Kenny Baker, Don Henderson, Jeremy Bulloch and I think Peter.

Why is that an odd thing, I hear you say? Well I found myself back at the same venue last week for the first time since. I was there to see Strictly Come Dancing stars in a dance show called Burn The Floor. It was great fun and starred Kevin Clifton, Graziano Di Prima and Johannes Radebe. What made it even more special was that Graziano stopped the show to propose to his girlfriend, a fellow dancer in the show. Naturally it got a standing ovation. Afterwards I went backstage to congratulate him and to tell Kevin to ignore the the rubbish printed in the tabloids. The amount of coverage they gave to the private life of a young man was absurd. I really dislike this stupid age of celebrity and the media coverage but I am now one of yesterday's men and glad to be retired. Until next time, keep on dancing.