Lewis' fifth title made me fall back in love with F1 '“ Rick Jackson

The final nail in the coffin for me was the end of the high-revving, ear-piercingly noisy V8 engines which were replaced by something you'd get in a Honda Jazz.

No refuelling during pit stops and silly rules about tyres made it seem all too boring and more about the technical side of things rather than out-and-out aggressive racing.

Team orders in which a number two driver who might be winning a race would have to let his number one pass, took the competitiveness out of the sport further in my opinion.

But it was Sunday evening, the kids were asleep and the wife was in the bath. Strictly Come Dancing isn't something I would ever watch on my own, so while channel hopping, I stumbled across the Mexican grand prix.

And boy was It  brilliant.

Lewis Hamilton had to finish seventh or better to be crowned champion unless challenger Sebastian Vettel won the race.

It was edge of your seat stuff and the Sky Sports team did a superb job keeping me entertained as the cars zipped round lap after lap.

There were some fantastic overtaking manoeuvres and there was real jeopardy as drivers had to balance driving hard to win against preventing their super-soft tyres from shredding in the middle of the race.

Like cricket, the intricacies of the sport are fascinating and weather conditions dictate a lot of the outcome. Like cricket, F1 is also best watched from the comfort of your own sofa!

Hamilton couldn't attack, his tyres were in an awful state, but Vettel was second and closing. What would happen next?

In the end, Hamilton finished fourth and Vettel second, enough to see the Brit crowned world champion for a fifth time and enabling me to find some love for the sport again.'‹'‹'‹'‹'‹'‹'‹'‹'‹'‹'‹'‹'‹'‹'‹'‹'‹'‹'‹'‹'‹

 

I'm hiding in the loo because my daughter wants a poo!

I can't wait until potty training has been cracked by our kids. Freddie is four and, apart from the odd accident caused generally by his eagerness to do other things, has got it.

But Holly, two, keeps changing her mind. It's been a year since we started and she's done superbly well. But suddenly she'll regress.

You never know what day she's deciding to have until it's too late. She also changes her mind about who she wants to help her, one day it's me, the next it's mummy and she won't accept anyone else. This can be an issue. For example, a telephone consultation with my very understanding doctor had to take place in the downstairs loo as Holly wanted me to help her have a poo!

 

If you want a job doing well, always give it to a busy mum

I had a flustered Kate Weston working with me on the breakfast show last week. Her husband Simon had to go to Dubai for a week on business.

Kate had to keep her son organised and happy during half-term, while still working. By Friday she was frazzled, especially as she was organising a birthday party for 30 kids. She now has utter respect for anyone whose other half is away for any amount of time.

Simon returned at the weekend having had a wonderful week, which included dinner at the world's highest restaurant in the Burj Khalifa. Simon returned relaxed and with a bit of a tan.

You can imagine Kate's mood on Monday morning.