“In just a few days now, I will be filming with H&C down on the Thames, outside the House of Commons and along the river towards Docklands. I’ve got great memories of fishing on the Thames as a student, but that was up Richmond way.

It’s exciting to think how many fish species and how many people depended on fish over the centuries in the heart of the capital, though. Salmon, eels, pike, perch, roach and even sturgeon were all important foodstuffs. Lampreys, too, along with a host of other species not mentioned. That’s how prolific our rivers once were: the name Trent, for example, probably comes from the French ‘trente’ for thirty - the number of species the river once held.

But the Thames was always more than just a fishery. It has always been the reason for London’s pre-eminence and success. For centuries, the Thames ensured London was at the heart of world trade and it’s only since the 1970s and ‘80s that the docks began to die and Dockland rose from their ashes.

The big question is will Martin Salter and I catch a fish anywhere close to the House of Commons? If we do, Nige ‘the Hat’ Mercer, promises us a bottle of champagne. It’s tempting to smuggle in a live roach in a waterlogged wellie!

We’ll let you know if we get as much as a bite.”