I must start today by saying a thank you and saying goodbye. No, stop your beating hearts, I am not going anywhere unless the grim reaper surprises me so you are not rid of me yet.

My thank you is to the readers who have decided to come to this odd event at Elstree Studios in December called An Evening With Paul Welsh, which I guess means me. When I reluctantly agreed to such an idea I assumed it would be with about 40 people. However, the event has gone into three figures, which is extremely flattering but quite unnerving as I am used to being the host and not the subject. To those of you who are coming, my advice is take advantage of the bar, which is open one hour before the event, get plastered and sit back thinking of England.

My goodbye is to that great actor Robert Vaughn, who has died after a short battle with cancer. I grew up watching Robert in such films as The Magnificent Seven and the hit 1960s television series The Man From Uncle. I also thought he was good in more recent times in the series Hustle.

Robert did a television series at Elstree Studios at the beginning of the 1970s called The Protectors, but sadly he later told me he thought it was total rubbish and he regretted doing it. Actually I tend to agree with him. He nearly ran me over at the Studio entrance but I expect not on purpose. In fact a few years later I nearly ran over his Man From Uncle co-star David McCallum in Eldon Avenue, Borehamwood, where he was renting a house whilst filming Sapphire And Steele at ATV Studios.

It was with regret that I heard that Sir Jimmy Young has passed away, albeit at a grand old age. Once again I grew up listening to him on the radio and had the privilege of being interviewed by him on air in the late 1980s when I was chairman of the Save Elstree Studios campaign. He made you feel so relaxed. I also recall being interviewed on radio by Emma Freud, Derek Jameson, Pete Murray, Janice Long and others as the industry were supportive of our campaign.

The campaign came to a close, after eight years, in February 1996 when Hertsmere Council bought the studio in an out-of-court-settlement with Brent Walker for a bargain price. I was appointed chairman of the Elstree Studios Partnership company and we were tasked to ensure a semi-derelict facility was brought back to life.

It was no simple task, as after three years of closure the business had written it off and it required a lot of money to refurbish and rebuild. I argued for two new giant sound stages, which were erected in 1999 and if you watch Strictly Come Dancing, that comes from one of those stages. It is slightly odd that I cannot get a ticket for the show but that is showbiz. I even got Prince Charles to open them but I suspect he would be luckier getting a ticket.

I could fill a chapter in a book, which I will probably never get around to writing, about that campaign and the relaunch of Elstree Studios. It would involve the likes of Stanley Kubrick, Ken Branagh, Mohammed Ali and Dodi Fayed, LucasFilm and 20th Century Fox to name a few.

I do recall with pleasure organising and hosting the reopening event in December 1996. Among the old timers returning were Peggy Cummins, Sir Nigel Hawthorne, William Lucas, Pat Coombs, Peter Wyngarde, Christopher Lee, Ron Moody, Barry Morse, Liz Fraser and Sylvia Syms, to name but a few.

I rarely have a reason to visit the Studio today but whenever I walk past and look at it bustling with life I think back to those bleak years of the campaign and all the public who supported us and say to myself I think we do a good job. Until next week, take care.