Interview: Rafel Bagot

I was born in Blanes, which is the first town on the Costa Brava. My parents had three kids in four years. I’m the one in the middle.

I got good grades at school although I never made a big effort. I thought it was more fun to work a little bit and then go play football or basketball.

I’ve always been very sociable. At university I knew everyone.

Sport is something I’ve always loved. It’s fun, but there are always winners and losers. People always think they know a lot about sport and that makes it interesting when I go to bars.

I started at TV3 15 years ago as an indexer. This means you act as a filter between incoming news from around the world and the TV station. I would see a good goal, between Newcastle and Liverpool say, and then pitch it to the guy who does international football.

I interviewed Tiger Woods once, although I wasn’t supposed to. It was during the Ryder Cup about 10 years ago in Valderrama, near Malaga. I was still working as an indexer but TV3 sent me to do a general report on the “Costa del Golf” because I was the only one who could speak English. I went to see the American team practising and just asked for a few words. I think they were surprised by the accent, so they let me.

One of my best moments was meeting Pelé. It was at a show celebrating the 100th anniversary of Mundo Deportivo in Barcelona, where they showed a movie I’d made to record the ‘Best Sporting Moments’ of the last 100 years. They let me have two minutes, so I asked him about Ronaldhino, who had just come to Barça. I remember hugging him and thinking “I’m hugging part of history.”

I would like to interview Michael Jordan. He is such a winner and a champion. He decided to be the best basketball player in history and he did it. And Maradona. He’s a legend, although he’d probably be a bit of a handful.

In many ways, I prefer radio to TV. My first presenting experience was at Radio Blanes, where I did a cultural magazine show for four or five years. I like the fact you don’t depend on anyone else and you can create your own atmosphere.

I’m very proud of Pau Gasol, the centre for the Lakers, I did his first TV interview. He was just turning 18 and about to start playing for the Barça first team. The interview was at his house and he had loads of NBA posters on his wall. He was very grounded and very tall. Now he’s not only playing for the NBA, he’s the centre for the two-times champion team. Whenever I see him, I think “Hey, I knew you when you were a kid.”

It’s hard to say which is my most embarrassing TV moment! There are a few because we go out live. Sometimes the Autocue doesn’t work and when I look down at my papers, I’ve got no notes. Although I research and write 95 percent of what I read, it’s usually the five percent I haven’t done! I’ve found the best thing is just to smile and accept that I’m human.

I’m a man who can multitask. I have to! Presenting 24-hour news can be stressful. At the same moment you are reading the Autocue, there’s a producer telling you to do something else, then you might announce you are going live to something and the technician says “No!” You have to improvise a lot. I often think of it as being a trapeze artist at the circus but without the net.