Life

Weekend Q&A: Just one more thing... with Columbo fan, ex-surfer and BBC Radio Foyle presenter Mark Patterson

Mark Patterson (52) is a BBC Radio Foyle presenter whose eponymous show runs from Monday to Friday at 1.30pm

Mark Patterson
Mark Patterson Mark Patterson

How do you unwind at the weekend?

I'm a failed allotment-eer and gardener. I've spent lockdown in the garden of my little terraced house near the Peace Bridge in Derry and took the decision to turn it prehistoric with trees and umbrella ferns. That's where I am most at home. I'm an ex-surfer, ex-rugby player and am now a snorkeller when I go to Donegal. At home I'm OK but I haven't seen my dad Billy, the unofficial lord mayor of Lurgan, for 14 months. He owns a woodworking company making boards and exporting them all over the EU. But my garden with roses and a wisteria arch is my bit of paradise. I also cook and am a big shellfish man.

What do you recall most about growing up?

It was crazy. Every Friday night I'd be part of the Lurgan 3rd Boys' Brigade, and in the football team on Saturday. I captained mid-Ulster at one point. Then my height became an issue. Mum is 5ft 11ins, dad's 6ft and I became the tallest in class at 15. All my uncles are tall too, and I'm now 6ft 5in. Height has some uses, though, and I played rugby in the second row for Lurgan College. I was the jumper.

Friday night or Saturday night?

In lockdown, I've loved the peace of a Friday evening. I live on my own and Saturday is spent cleaning, tidying and cooking. I make all my own food, including organic soups. I'm also a DIY guy and mend things.

Do you have a must-listen weekend radio show or podcast?

I enjoy RTE's programme The Sunday Miscellany, also The Kitchen Cabinet (Radio 4) with Jay Rayner.

Must-watch TV show/box set?

Sundays are great as you can watch three Columbos in a row. And you know he's going to get the murderer. There's real craft in the plotting. I admire creators Richard Levinson and William Link and like the Irish ones with Patrick McGoohan. But I'm a Dad's Army fan too, into the nostalgia. I also try not to miss Professor Brian Cox's programmes.

Favourite eatery or is it a takeaway?

When I first came to Derry in 1993 as a 23-year-old - I was executive secretary at the Londonderry YMCA - there wasn't much of a restaurant scene. That's totally changed. I enjoy fine dining at places like The Sooty Olive and Browns, also the work of Kevin Pike at Pike and Ponds for a Derry burger.

Is Sunday still special?

I'm not a religious person at all, although I used to be. But it's a special day as I cook for friends, the people that matter to me. I adore living in Derry, which I regard as my home now.

How do you feel on Sunday night about Monday morning?

I love my job so it's OK. We have a magnificent team on the show, all younger than me. Twenty-two years into the job I still feel privileged, partly thanks to mentors like Mickey Bradley, my first producer who says if something's not right, and the late Gerry Anderson, who I shared a studio with and who was incredible.

The Mark Patterson Show is on BBC Radio Foyle, Monday to Friday from 1.30pm, and also available on BBC Sounds