After gaining a degree in Philosophy and Literature from the University of Warwick, Rich Peppiatt brought the very best suit his overdraft could buy and joined the other notebook-clutching Dick Whittingtons marching on Fleet Street.

Following a spell at the Mail on Sunday, the highlight of which being a trawl of eastern Canada searching for a stripper named Phoenix, the chance arose to hone a fast-developing moral ambivalence at the vastly more cerebral Daily Star.

With his reportage now freed from the shackles of truth, logic or taste, opportunity abounded to tackle nuanced national issues with the tact of a rusted hacksaw. For these services to circulation he was given one of modern society's highest accolades; access to celebrities.

By the spring of 2011 he finally faced up to the glaring reality that he was doing some bad things for some bad people in an attempt to maintain a not bad lifestyle. There was no escaping it; this made him a bad person. He felt bad.

Soon after, he quit. He felt much, much better.

Nowadays Rich is a commentator on media issues for TV, radio and print and campaigns for press reform in Britain. He also holds candid talks about his experiences as a red-top hack and is working on a number of exciting writing projects.

In his spare time he enjoys pottering around his beloved Highbury and writing about himself in the third person.