HIS famously relaxed manner and dry wit on screen have won the man dubbed the Silver Fox legions of admirers, not least among housewives of a certain age.

For a glance at a website devoted to Des Lynam shows the veteran TV presenter, who is coming to Bournemouth tonight to sign copies of his new autobiography, has a broad fan base.

The website contains a page of classic Lynam quotes, such as: "More football later, but first let's see the goals from the Scottish Cup Final," and (at Wimbledon): "This is live rain we're watching, not recorded rain."

Des anoraks can also complete a quiz about their hero and leave messages in a guest book, where comments range from women proposing marriage to men with more unnatural designs on their hero.

So far they have been able to project their fantasies on to a fairly blank canvas, as Lynam has previously been guarded about his private life.

But now his book reveals details of his upbringing, his early marriage and divorce, and the women in his life, as well as his view of more than 30 years in broadcasting.

"I didn't do the book for the money. It was suggested that, because I've had a long and reasonably decent career, it would be nice to tell people how easy or difficult it was," he explained.

"In broadcasting, there are difficult surroundings and the technicalities can be quite complicated.

"The trick is to try and look composed, because you don't want to come over edgy."

Lynam was born in Ireland in 1942 and did not meet his father until he was four.

He went to school in Brighton and worked for an insurance company until he was 27.

He started freelancing for local radio, then moved to London, where he commentated on boxing before anchoring Sports Report for Radio 2.

On BBC TV, he presented Grandstand and Match of the Day, fronted coverage of Wimbledon, the World Cup and Olympic Games, defecting to ITV in 1999. He retired from sports presenting after the 2004 European Championships and was recently named as the new presenter of Countdown, replacing the late Richard Whiteley.

A genuine sports fan, he names Muhammed Ali as the greatest sportsman he has ever met, but admits: "If I could only ever watch one sport for the rest of my life, I would watch football. There's a lot of money swimming around because some wealthy people have come into the game.

"If people think players care only about the money, it's a bit of a turn-off, but I think they still have a great desire to play well and win matches."

I Should Have Been At Work is published by HarperCollins at £18.99. Des Lynam will be signing copies at Waterstones, Castlepoint, Bournemouth, from 5pm to 6pm tonight.