After resigning as a BBC correspondent at the 1997 General Election to take on Conservative MP Neil 'cash for questions' Hamilton in his Tatton constituency, Martin Bell was defeated in the battle for the Conservative seat of Brentwood and Ongar in Essex in June last year.

Now an ambassador of UNICEF, he releases the song 'Media Junkies', satirising tabloid newspaper agendas, later this year. Clear in his mind of the task ahead of him, Martin Bell says "I think it's called hip-hop. I'm not singing, I'm speaking, you'll be pleased to know. I think they call it vocalising but I see it as more of a Rex Harrison style."

All royalties he receives for the track will be donated to the United Nations' children's charity UNICEF

"I thought it was a bit odd at first, but then I thought, why not, I'll give it a go. I like new adventures." claims the man who has both been an MP and hit by mortar fire in Sarajevo, and is now making a move into the music/novelty record industry.