Talksport's Alan Brazil in running for book award

TalkSport breakfast presenter Alan Brazil has been shortlisted for this year's British Book Awards, competing against football giant Pelé and Steven Gerrard.

The former Scotland international turned talk radio host is in the running for the sports book of the year award at this year's ceremony, for his autobiography, There's An Awful Lot of Bubbly in Brazil.

Weekend breakfast host Mike Parry — who spent five years working with Brazil on the breakfast show before heart problems forced him to take time off — was a co-author on the book.

Brazil said: "I'm sure a lot of people will think this is just another book about a footballer and his life after he hung up his boots. But actually it's a research thesis to find out whether Alan Brazil was better as a footballer, a broadcaster or a bon viveur.

"The football research was easy as I used to watch him from the terraces and it was a doddle to rate him as a broadcaster because we did a show together for five years. What was difficult was the hands-on approach to judging his ability to drink champagne. That was hard. So hard it literally put me in hospital for seven months."

Brazil's book has sold four times more copies than Ashley Cole and Rio Ferdinand's books combined.

The winners of the British Book Awards are due to be announced at a ceremony at London's Grosvenor House Hotel on Wednesday 28 March, which will be televised on Channel 4 in an hour-long broadcast at 8pm on 30th March. The programme will also be repeated on More4.