A record £18,000 was raised at a lunch hosted by the West Midlands branch of the Journalists’ Charity.

BBC Radio 4 Today show presenter Nick Robinson was the guest speaker in front of hundreds of guests at Villa Park, including former Aston Villa owner Doug Ellis and the club’s current owner Tony Xia.

The Journalists’ Charity raises fund to help journalists who have fallen on hard times.

Mr Robinson spoke about his career as one of Britain’s best-known journalists including run-ins with the world’s most powerful leaders, not least of all former US president George Bush.

He has been at the forefront of political journalism for 30 years, both at the BBC and ITV and recently overcame serious illness.

Mr Robinson proved to be an entertaining speaker who covered a huge range of stories from his lengthy and varied broadcasting career, including recalling some of his earliest experiences which were gained at Birmingham’s legendary Pebble Mill studios.

The audience also enjoyed a television clip in which a clearly rattled George Bush gave Mr Robinson short shrift following a question he posed on the Iraq war during a press conference.

Mr Robinson said that, despite his many run-ins with politicians from all parties, he felt most were ultimately genuine people with good intentions who could easily have gone into other professions to line their pockets if they really wished.

The event was rounded off with a Q&A, where among other things, he revealed if it came down to taking part in either Strictly Come Dancing or I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here, he would plump for the dance show which has made Ed Balls an unlikely star.

The charity coffers were boosted through a variety of fundraising activities on the day including a raffle and auction.