Pop into Parkinson's pub

It looks like a typical old-fashioned English pub. The whitewashed walls, wooden beams, traditional pub grub and hanging painted sign bearing its name - the Royal Oak - are all there. But while the surroundings may be unremarkable, the owner of this public house is anything but.

He's already banned Terry Wogan from the premises and has his eye on Dolly Parton for the position of barmaid - but when you are Michael Parkinson, king of chat show hosts and interviewer of just about every star name in the business, you can afford to set your sights as publican just that little bit higher.

Sitting with a pint of bitter in his brand new acquisition in the tiny Berkshire village of Paley Street, Parkinson said: "I've always wanted to have my own pub. I have spent so much time in pubs over the years that I thought it might be cheaper to buy one.

"I've already banned Terry Wogan from drinking here though, after he took the mickey out of me on the radio yesterday. His family are welcome, but he can sit in the car park.

"In fact I have it on good authority that this place is haunted by the ghost of an Irish highwayman who was hanged at a gibbet in the car park. His name was Terence O' Wogan." Parkinson fans can, however, breathe a collective sigh of relief, as the interviewer, now aged 66, is not about to embark on a change of career.

The day-to-day running of the Royal Oak, which has its official opening in September, will be left to the licensee, his middle son Nicholas.

His other two sons, Michael and Andrew, have followed their father and gone into journalism. Parkinson said: "I'll be leaving all the hard work up to Nick. He's always wanted to own his own place too and we've been looking for somewhere for ages.

"Then we saw this place, and although it was in a terrible state it had potential and it is just down the road from where I live, so we decided to go for it. I'm really looking forward to being able to go for a quiet drink with my friends in my own pub. It also solves the problem of where to meet the rest of the family at birthdays and Christmas."

One half of the pub - which is on a 10-year lease from Chiswick-based brewer Fuller's - will be used as a restaurant, with the food preparation carefully supervised by Nicholas, who trained as a chef at the Savoy.

There are various items of memorabilia dotted around the place including a picture of Parkinson's favourite footballer, George Best, given to him by Elton John, and a rather unflattering caricature of Parkinson himself, purchased during a trip to Australia.