I don't own a television, and have never watched reality television, preferring to run, climb, row, stretch, or do just about anything else.  It was a great surprise to all who knew me, when an advert appeared on the BBC last summer, about a series called 'Astronauts: Do You Have What it Takes?', alongside the photograph above.  Yep, there I am, wearing a beanie (that's no surprise!) surrounded by incredibly clever, kind, skilful, talented people, ready to embark on the adventure of a lifetime - the chance to go through astronaut selection, with Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield.  Chris has been to space three times - he knows what he's talking about - and he wanted to find Britain's next astronaut candidate.  Those who know me well might be thinking that this would be an irresistible prospect - to be tested to the edge of my ability in a huge range of different areas, and see what skills I had, and where I needed to improve.

SPOILER ALERT - much to my immense surprise, I won the show, and now have Chris Hadfield's backing for my application, the next time the European Space Agency search for astronaut candidates.  To find out more about the journey as seen through my eyes, I've written an episode-by-episode blog (to be posted soon!)