Book Beat

A MONTH ago a friend asked if I’d ghost-write her autobiography. A challenge then. Could I possibly write someone else’s story and convince the reader I was them? In the interest of research I picked up a copy On The Beat: My Story by Graham Cole.

Cole has spent the best past of a quarter of century playing PC Stamp in The Bill – his last episode goes out later this month, and it’s safe to say that he wasn’t too happy about the decision. Cole’s story is a personal romp. From a his days working the holiday camps, through his time as various Doctor Who monsters to pounding the beat with the real police, his book in a real page turner. In fact, I read it from cover to cover one lazy Sunday.

What struck me about the book was the that Cole himself was obviously recalling his past adventures. His way of expressing himself quite unique. His eye-witness accounts of darker moments such as the attempted suicide of one of his Bill co-stars and the loss of his father were touching. His ire are being let go was still raw.
His desire to contribute to society almost overpowering. Could anyone else have captured his directness?

An acquaintance has in the past ghosted two such showbiz books, he told me of hours spent interviewing the subjects and then hours more spent transcribing their memories into memorable adventures that the would have the reader hooked. I read one of them, the spark of authenticity evident in Cole’s book was replaced by the gloss of the wordsmith, the celeb’s character diluted. That, I guess, is the pit fall a ghost-writer must avoid.

On The Beat: My Story by Graham Cole, Splendid Books, Hardback £17.99