Born in 1912, Brian spent a luxurious childhood in a Queen Anne house in Hertfordshire. When he was just ten years old the family suffered the tragic death of his father and were forced to sell the family home. A few years later Brian was sent to Eton, which he always said were the happiest days of his life - and where he demonstrated an early flair for cricket. After leaving school he longed to join the theatre, but instead travelled to Hamburg and then Brazil to learn the family trade - the coffee business. His travels were cut short after eighteen months when he became gravely ill and he returned home.

War broke out and Brian joined the 2nd Battallion Grenadier Guards serving in Normandy after D-Day, where he earned the Military Cross for 'untiring determination and cheerfulness under fire'. Six weeks after being demobbed he joined the BBC. He only planned to work there a few months; he ended up staying for 48 years, where his career ranged from performing in music halls, presenting children's television shows and, of course, presenting and commentating on television and radio, which quickly made him a household name. Told with candour and affection, THE LIFE OF BRIAN reveals the private side of a man who became a public institution.