Matthew Parris was born in Africa in 1949 and grew up in Cyprus, Rhodesia, Jamaica and Britain. He became an MP in 1979, and after seven years a Conservative MP he became the regular parliamentary sketchwriter for The Times. His books include his autobiography Chance Witness, Read My Lips, Scorn with Added Vitriol, and Inca-Kola. Parris is a regular travel writer, reviewer, broadcaster and columnist, and has presented Great Lives since 2006.