People of the Year - August

The people of the yera: August

Eddie Hobbs media star of 2005

His television series in August,Rip Off Republic, was great theatrics, even if nothing that was "revealed" had not been revealed before. Just that Eddie Hobbs has a way of communicating. Politically it purported to be neutral but the import was: public expenditure bad, tax cuts good. The series knocked the Government's claim to be good managers of the economy, although whether this impression will stick until the next election is uncertain. He handled subsequent controversy less assuredly. He advised one former (now deceased) client over a decade ago, while working as a financial adviser, on moving over £1m from a bogus account in a Kenmare bank to a bank in the Isle of Man in a bogus name, at a time when this man was separating from his wife and may have been keen to disguise his assets. On being informed by Village of its intention to publish material concerning his former work as a financial adviser, his response at first was acquiescence and then to threaten legal action. Nevertheless, Eddie Hobbs was the media star of 2005, primarily because of his mixture of humour and clarity, an unusual combination in current affairs broadcasting.