CELEBRITY INTERVIEW – ROGER COOK

PERSISTENT PERFORMANCE

Over Thirty Years, Roger Cook Has Covered Thousands Of Miles As Britain's Best-Known Investigative Journalist, Many Of Them Behind The Wheel Of A Jaguar. His Success Has Brought Him A British Academy Award – And A Jaguar XJR...


Once described as the man who wouldn't even take 'yes' for an answer, Roger Cook is someone who just won't go away - as countless crooks, swindlers and bungling bureaucrats have discovered to their cost.


His unique brand of investigative journalism has never been long away from TV and radio either: both Checkpoint and The Cook Report have been confronting injustice for nearly 30 years.
Twelve serious death threats haven't dissuaded him. Nor have frequent physical attacks. It comes with the territory. Every job has its downsides: his are just played out in public.
There are compensations of course. ''Every programme we do achieves something,'' he observes, ''even if it's only allowing people to get things of their chest.'' Mr Cook is being modest of course. Over 1,000 investigations have led on many occasions to changes in the law or prosecutions. Roger Cook is a persistent man - and a demanding one, which makes his choice of car of more than usual interest.
For obvious reasons, 'home' is a well guarded secret, but wherever it is, a 155mph V8 Jaguar XJR sits patiently in the drive, awaiting the next countrywide dash in the ongoing fight against injustice. It's his third XJR in succession - his fifth Jaguar in all - and he's a strong supporter of the marque.
''I know of no other car that combines the magic carpet ride and supersonic performance of this one. Plenty manage one of the other - I had a BMW M5 that was blindingly quick but shook your fillings out over rough roads - but so far, nothing comes close in all-round terms. The fact that it looks drop-dead gorgeous as well is a bonus.''
A trip back down motoring memory lane reveals that performance has always been a priority and Jaguars a consistent favourite. Back in the Seventies, he ran an XK150 Coupe and prior to that a Coombes-modified Jaguar 3.8 MKII - ''you know, the old Inspector Morse-shape.'' This, it turns out, was a thinly disguised road racer ''with what proported to be a D-Type head,'' fast but fragile.
Inevitably, discussions on the old MKII lead to the modern-day successor it has inspired - the new S-TYPE. Jaguar stylists were concerned about the reaction the car might receive from those attached to the original. Like Inspector Morse himself, near-neighbour actor John Thaw, Cook believes they need not have worried. ''It looks terrific, evoking Jaguar's past without being overly retro.''
When pressed, he's not quite sure about the dropping line down the flanks but reserves the right to better appreciate the new look in his driveway. ''I might well try the 4.0-litre V8 version as my next car. After all, I don't need all the space of the XJR and the S-TYPE would be nearly as fast and probably more manoeuvrable. Rumour has it that there'll be a performance version too: I'd love to get my hands on one of those.''
It's all a long way from humble beginnings back in New Zealand, where he grew up driving a single cylinder tractor and various clapped-out agricultural vehicles on the family farm, and Sydney Australia where he paid his dues as an announcer for a commercial radio station. The frustration of being ''a big fish in a small pond'' preceded a move to England and a job at the BBC reporting for and presenting The World At One and the PM programme for Radio 4.
By the time he reached these shores, he was the proud holder of a selection of race and road driving licences for three different countries, though that didn't prevent the need for a further test in Blighty. Ironically, he failed first time due to ''over confidence,'' though the same examiner granted him a motorbike licence a week later for the same reason after a cursory ride round the carpark.
In the three decades since, that same 'over confidence' has stood him in good stead, whether the job in hand be buying weapons-grade plutonium for the Russian Mafia or staring down the barrel of a paramilitary extortionist’s gun in negotiations as a fictional property developer in Belfast. As you might expect, there have been plenty of motoring exposés along the way, most related to Britain's dubious standing as the world capital of car crime.
He remembers being set up in his own used car emporium ('Roger's Dodgy Motors'), presiding over a selection of hookie cars ''all of them either cloned, stolen or bodged 'cut 'n shut' repairs.'' He's also targeted the nationally organised gangs who, quite literally, steal to order, often hacking into dealer lists to locate the exact cars they're after.
Even more vivid memories surround the programme he did on the first stolen vehicle tracking devices. ''We fitted a Mitsubishi Shogun with one of these things, waited for it to be stolen, then followed and accosted the bloke who'd taken it. He went for the film crew with a baseball bat.'' But not for Cook himself. ''He went for the ones who ran. I just stood there with my arms folded. It's a bit like lion taming really. Apparently they are less likely to attack if you show no fear.''
An appropriate philosophy perhaps for a man who drives a big Cat. And, like his choice of car, it's one that's unlikely to change.