Dougie Donnelly set for North Ayrshire's Tidelines festival

From covering the Olympic Games, to commentating on the opening match of the 1998 World Cup in France, which saw Scotland take on Brazil, he has some amazing memories to look back on.

Now, he's shared some of his favourites in his first book, 'My Life in Sport', which was released last week.

And he'll be giving an insight into some of the biggest sporting events in the world when he appears at Irvine's Harbour Arts Centre next Thursday, September 26 - the opening day of this year's Tidelines festival.

Dougie on TV in his younger days (Image: Dougie Donnelly) Asked about 'My Life in Sport', Dougie said: "It's a bit of a misnomer really. The first 16 years of my career were as much about music as sport.

"My days at Radio Clyde were wonderful fun and I was able to meet Elton John, Paul McCartney and so many others. I actually interviewed three of the Beatles over the years, which is an achievement.

"They really were wonderful times and all that led to my TV appearances."

Asked about the highlights of his broadcasting career, Dougie said: "I have so many. I'll just give one or two examples...

"I commented on Stephanie Cook winning the modern pentathlon at the Sydney Olympics in 2000 and that was amazing. She was actually born in Irvine.

"Then there was another Ayrshire woman, Rhona Martin leading her curling team to gold at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. That was pretty special too.

(Image: Dougie Donnelly) "And commenting on the Scotland vs Brazil opening match of the 1998 World Cup in the Stade De France was another memorable one.

"I don't get nervous much, but a few seconds before the countdown to the start I started thinking, 'This is Scotland versus Brazil at the World Cup. It doesn't get much bigger than this...'

"Sitting next to Bill McLaren at two Rugby World Cups was another amazing experience. I was a lucky boy."

Now, Dougie has turned his hand to writing. His first book, which covers his whole career, was started during lockdown. And it features a foreword by his old pal Billy Connelly.

Dougie said: "It was always something that was at the back of my mind. My family said to me 'you have travelled the world and met some of the greatest sportsmen and women, you really should write about it'.

"So I started it when Covid hit. I never thought of myself as a writer. I did a few scripts before, but most of my career has been live TV.

"I went to the journalist Hugh McDonald, who I know and asked him to do it with me.

"He told me 'do it yourself', I'll tell you if it's any good'.

"I started writing and quite enjoyed it. It made me realise how fortunate I have been over the years."

Asked if he was enjoying his latest career as an author, Dougie said: "I am actually, yes.

"I'm just back from the St Duthac Book & Arts Festival in Tain and it was really good. I did about half an hour of 'funnies' and hopefully everyone really enjoyed it.

"I'm looking forward to Tidelines next week. I've heard some really good things about it."

You can hear Dougie's amazing stories for yourself when he comes to the Harbour Arts Centre on Thursday, September 26 at 7.30pm. Tickets are priced at £10.

For more details about this year's Tidelines, visit here.