Robert Peston's My London

What advice would you give a tourist?
Use the Underground, apart from the Jubilee Line. When I worked in Canary Wharf it was a constant nightmare.

What's your earliest London memory?
Queen's Wood is a wonderful, ancient wood in North London that was right behind the house I grew up in. As a boy I played football and hide and seek there. It used to have a paddling pool, but I imagine that has been closed for health and safety reasons.

Which shops do you rely on?
I hate big shops and supermarkets, so I try to use local shops like Owen's Food Store on Alexandra Park Road, which does lovely hams and cheeses. I go to Neckline in Muswell Hill for my shirts, suits, shoes and ties - very important as I have to look vaguely presentable for the telly. As for my hair, I don't dye it: it's all in the cut, by David Barron of Barrons, who has been cutting my hair for 15 years. I go to Fenwick to buy presents for my wife.

What's the first thing you do when you get home after being away?
I am a mad, obsessive person and need to get back to normal life straight away so I have to unpack immediately and open all the post and emails before I do anything else.

Which is your favourite club?
I was a founding member of The Groucho and spent far too much time there in my misspent youth. But when I became a dad I ran out of time, so the sad truth is I don't go any more. Maybe when my son Max is grown up I can become a disreputable old man and start going again.

What's the best piece of advice you've ever been given?
'Get a move on,' by Huw Edwards on the Ten O'Clock News.

How would you like the opening line of your obituary to read?
'He was an annoying nit, except to his family.'

What's your biggest extravagance?
Jeffery West shoes. I buy a new pair once a season.

What would you do if you were Mayor for the day?
I'd abolish all cars. They spread pollution and are noisy and unpleasant.

What was the last album you bought?
The Kinks Greatest Hits. I think Ray Davies is the greatest British songwriter from the last 50 years.

Which is your favourite street for shopping?
Marylebone High Street. It has a mixture of lovely food, book and clothes shops.

If you could live in any building in London which would it be?
There's a 17th-century house just by the Globe theatre, where Christopher Wren lived while he was building St Paul's. It has wonderful views along the river.

What are you up to at the moment?
The Rupert Murdoch story has slightly taken over my life at the Beeb, but just as important is a charitable venture I am setting up, Speakers for Schools. It is an initiative to make it easier for disadvantaged state schools to attract inspirational speakers to give talks to their students. We've recruited more than 600 speakers, including all the Cabinet. We launch in October (speakers4schools.org).

What is your favourite discovery?
My family came over from Eastern Europe in the late 19th century and lived in East London. About ten years ago I stumbled on a synagogue just off Brick Lane. It felt like a window on my past.

What's the best meal you've had?
Anything cooked by my sister Juliet. She was the head chef for many years at Alastair Little, but has retired now. She actually invented the dish of oysters and sausages.

Tell me something I don't know about London...
Muswell Hill is the epicentre of British rock'n'roll: The Kinks grew up there; Rod Stewart went to primary school there; Fairport Convention was created in Muswell Hill; and Vivian Stanshall, the lead singer of the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, lived there.

Who are your heroes?
I haven't revised the list since I was a child, so Oliver Cromwell because we share a birthday, David Bowie because I wanted to be him, and Charlie George because I'm an Arsenal supporter and he won them the double in 1971.

Where did you last go on holiday?
My wife and I love West Wales, especially Aberystwyth. It's where my wife's family are from. The combination of a stunning coastline, proper rugged hills and dolphins makes it unbeatable.