Interviews
I'm an award-winning writer and editor with a talent for storytelling and proven track record of creating engaging, entertaining and informative content.
I'll give you insightful and amusing interviews; in-depth and entertaining features; crisp, clean copy for editorial or commercial work across multiple platforms; confident broadcast work. I can write for any audience, to a word count and on time, with the perfect tone.
I've written on most subjects: film, food, drink, travel, politics, physical and mental health, sport, music, television, culture and society, 'lifestyle' and politics. I have literally hundreds of celebrity and non-celebrity interviews under my belt, from Pacino and De Niro, to Jolie and Gervais, via Elton and McCartney.
I spent 11 years at ShortList and have also written for titles diverse as the Guardian, Observer Magazine, Empire, Vera, The Independent, Telegraph, RT, Google, Guinness, LG, YOU, Daily Mail, Penguin, Jaguar, The Jackal, Marie Claire, Stylist, Guardian Labs, easyJet Traveller, Fashionbeans, Flash Pack and Changeboard. I've received a record four PPA Writer of the Year nominations and won two Games Media Awards.
Interviews
Quiet extrovert, cultured street kid, gentle nutcase; Robert De Niro's life is one of contradictions. Speaking to the actor, and his old friends in Little Italy, Andrew Dickens goes in search of the real "Bobby Milk" Robert De Niro's waiting. No, I'm not quoting Bananarama - he really is.
When a Star Wars fan began uploading his fan theories to YouTube, he imagined it as a simple hobby. Two million subscribers later, Star Wars Theory almost killed its creator Most people who express their opinions online are, in effect, breaking wind in the middle of a hurricane.
As the rain hits the roof of a photography studio on an industrial estate in South East London, two young British actors are planning to take over the world. Stephen Odubola is trying to persuade Micheal Ward that he should move to Los Angeles.
The Days of the Bagnold Summer star - and son of Nick Cave - on rebelling from his parents, fame, and grieving for his twin brother Arthur For Earl Cave, tapping into his inner mardy youth for his new film Days of the Bagnold Summer - a quirky, genuinely funny suburban comedy directed by Simon Bird from The Inbetweeners - wasn't easy.
Jeremy Corbyn: has there been a more emotive name in modern British politics? Maybe it's the initials. After all, he's not the first JC to have both a devoted following and passionate detractors. Just ask Jeremy Clarkson. And that other chap with the beard.
Turning around is an art. Turning around can be done well, like an Olympic ice-skater. Turning around can be done badly, like a drunk uncle on a dancefloor. And, just occasionally, turning around can be done to such effect that the turner ends up facing in the direction of greatness.
Preconceptions are a lot like greatest hits albums. You know you shouldn't really have them, but in reality, they involve a lot less work and are easy to listen to. They're also a lot like analogies in this introduction: very hard to avoid.
When you hear the word 'masculinity', Grayson Perry is perhaps not the first person to spring to mind. He's no Marlon Brando, you might say. No Ross Kemp.
Ricky Gervais interview for ShortList around The Invention of Lying
"Have you spoken to Ryan?" asks Russell Crowe. I have, yes. "So you don't get an opportunity to talk to him again?" I don't, no. Two jets of white smoke escape from Crowe's nostrils, he begins to smile with his eyes. To 'smeyes'. "His nickname is 'Spanky'."
In Rotherhithe, London, there is a blue plaque commemorating Sir Michael Caine's birthplace. Not unusual, you might think, except for one thing: technically, he shouldn't have one. "On the plaque it says, 'Voted for by the people,'" he tells me. "Because normally you only get a blue plaque if you're dead.
Robbie Williams is going it alone again. Andrew Dickens cornered the refreshingly self-aware pop star to talk fatherhood, fidelity and ash-covered Weetabix Robbie Williams: two words that conjure up mixed feelings in most men. On one hand, he comes across as the kind of cocksure lothario who'd whip your girlfriend away, only to return her three days later, a shell of her former self.
He's Britain's greatest musical export, a living legend and, when the Olympics finally arrive, the man who will say, "Hello, World." In the meantime, ShortList's Andrew Dickens says, "Hello, Sir Paul" The subject of this interview needs no introduction, but he's going to get one anyway. He is Sir Paul McCartney.
We at this magazine possess great power. Not supernatural power - not yet - but the power, the privilege, to say to thousands: this is a man you should know about. He's talented, he's interesting, he's one of the good guys and he's going places. He's one of us.
Megastar, pretty boy, tabloid villain; how much do we really know about Jude Law? ShortList's Andrew Dickens shares a late breakfast with the reinvigorated actor Jude Law says he's never used moisturiser. As I sit, looking - OK, staring - at his annoyingly youthful, tanned and handsome face, I find this hard to believe.
Rami Malek, as your mum might say, is being a brave soldier. We're in an artist's loft studio in some bit of New York you're unlikely to ever visit. It is an airless 89 degrees Fahrenheit, yet Malek entered this fiery hell box wearing a jumper and shirt. He's ill.
You're the face - or neck - of Dolce & Gabbana The One Grey. Do you know what you're looking for in a fragrance? Not really. You change it up over the years, don't you? And because they're evocative they mark out periods in your life, relationships.
The world can make an actor feel overly important. What I do isn't hard work. It's not ditch digging - which I have done, for one summer. Of course there are times when your fuel tank's low, but even on the hardest days you are on a film set.
I don't have a specific look. It's whatever I feel comfortable in at the time. Sometimes I'll get up and dress smart, and then sometimes I'll get up and wear the baggiest tracksuit. On a day-to-day basis, I wear oversized T-shirts, fitted tracksuit bottoms and shoes such as Balenciaga Triple S trainers.
I like loyalty over ability. You know when you're young and can count your friends on one hand? It's easy to find people who can do the job, but it's hard to find people you can go out with, build with, eat with. That's loyalty. You're breaking bread.
Samuel L Jackson is 68 years old. Sixty-eight motherf*cking years. Hard to believe, isn't it? This vision of youthful energy sitting before me, dressed in so much white that he has to drink his coffee through a straw from a plastic cup housed within a ceramic mug in order to minimise the chance of speckling, is 68.
Through sheer force of friendliness, Dermot O'Leary's takeover of TV land continues with his new car-themed game show. Andrew Dickens hops in his passenger seat [Photography: Greg Williams] Believe it or not, magazine interviews aren't easy. There is actually an element of skill involved; to pick and position questions that will best elicit entertaining and informative words on a particular subject or subjects.
Travel, Food & Culture
In Rio de Janeiro this weekend, all eyes will be on very fast guys in green, black and gold. Andrew Dickens visits Jamaica to discover their secrets of speed. The crowd are livid, out of their seats and hurling abuse from the stands. It is quite the reaction to a red card.
Think Miss World with welly throwing; Britain's Got Talent in ballgowns. Andrew Dickens explores the madness of Ireland's cultural institution the Rose of Tralee. Picture the scene.
Some of the names in this article have been changed to protect the innocent, and the not so innocent. And me, should I ever return to the village of Great Barrington, Gloucestershire. It's a Sunday morning in December and I'm showering in my bathroom above the Fox Inn, Great Barrington, Gloucestershire.
Death, fear and drugs haunt the US-Mexico border. Andrew Dickens visits two cities divided by a fence, but joined by much more US federal agents prepare to cross the bridge from El Paso, Texas, over the Rio Grande, into Ciudad Juárez, Mexico.
But will we change for good? Old habits die hard and new ones are tricky to instil. Ben Voyer, a professor in behavioural science at ESCP Business School, believes large-scale societal shifts are unlikely, claiming that most of the population will go back to how they behaved before.'At a societal level though, I can't see many long-term consequences,' Voyer says.
One secret to having a cheaper ski holiday is to go early or late in the season 'Cheap' ski clothes can be picked up from stores such as Aldi and Decathlon Self-catered apartments are usually cheaper than hotels or catered chalets There are three things that put people off ski holidays: fear of physical pain, fear of not being very good .
After high-profile acquisitions including Marvel, Pixar and of course Lucasfilm, The Walt Disney Company is bigger than ever. As its latest animated hit Wreck-It Ralph lands, Andrew Dickens visits a studio intent on global domination... With bated breath, you grip your cinema seat as the opening scene of the seventh Star Wars film unfolds.
As I lie on my back in a small Tokyo apartment, a 70-something Japanese man, half his right thumb missing, is rhythmically piercing my skin with minute ink-tipped needles on the end of an aluminium stick. This is tebori, the traditional Japanese method of tattooing. And I'm getting myself a very permanent souvenir.
Driving from London to Italy in a Ferrari, collecting pizzas, bringing then home
"I want to have those memories," says Mike 'Pretty Boy' Hales. "I want to tell my kids about my career, the excitement, the journey. The places, the people. It's a rollercoaster. I want to think back to good times, the way I think back to great moments at school.
In January, it emerged that Boris Becker had misplaced a few items. These items were five tennis Grand Slam trophies. To be precise, five of his six Grand Slam trophies: two Australian Open and three Wimbledon. He hadn't sold them or donated them; he simply didn't know where they were.
White tie for men just might be the hardest dress code to master. Whether it's for a wedding or a state dinner, here's everything you need to know including the difference between white tie and black tie, the key pieces to buy and how to wear it.
"Over-entitled bunch of whingers." "Perfectly pleasant, except when talking about Arsenal." These are all answers to the question, 'How would you describe Arsenal fans?' It was asked because it has become increasingly obvious that, in 2017, Arsenal fans have overtaken Manchester United's as the most hated by other football fans.
Hundreds of people, mostly men, squeeze their way past each other and the two rows of stalls flanking the room. They stop every shuffled yard to peer closely at labels on bottles and jars, and the samples of their contents in corresponding ramekins.
Sport & Health
I will never have kids. This isn't a reactionary statement, having watched another sleep-deprived parent expel precious life force from their body in an attempt to calm their screaming spawn. Nor is it the result of medical issues 'down there'. It's a decision that my wife and I took while of sound mind and body.
Hello and welcome to Depression Awareness Week: a week of campaigning, chatting and, apparently, wearing hats, all aimed at, you guessed it, raising awareness of depression. Back in pre-austerity 2010, halcyon days I think you'll all agree, I wrote the following article in an attempt to do just that.
Sometimes you kick, sometimes you get kicked. For months, these thoughtful lyrics from INXS have been my inspirational mantra as I prepare for today, the biggest physical challenge of my mostly unchallenging life. But now, I'm pretty certain Michael Hutchence is cursing me from beyond the grave.
Organisations must 'walk the walk' when it comes to addressing workplace mental health, and the key to success is addressing culture. The penny has finally dropped. Well, not so much dropped as drifted down slower than a feather on the Moon, but that penny - employers realising that mental health should be talked about it in the same way as physical health - has at last touched down.
There are many motivation strategies in life: love, a will to win, the fear of shame. But FOMO - the fear of missing out - drove Andrew Dickens to achieve much, much more... Looking down the slope in front of me, I feel my rectum loosen.
Life begins at 40! Try telling that to someone from the 15th century. If they hit 40, they'd be looking over their shoulder for an unearthly scythe held by a guy who always looks slim in black. For them, the phrase would have been 'death stalks at 40, if you make it that far'.
Copywriting & Branded Content
Ihr Webbrowser ist veraltet und wird von Microsoft Windows nicht mehr unterstützt. Aktualisieren Sie auf einen neueren Browser, indem Sie eine dieser kostenlosen Alternativen herunterladen. Food is nothing without great flavour, so we are proud to bring you a 100% plant-based alternative that does everything dairy butter can do, is better for the planet* and, crucially, has that delicious buttery taste.
It's with good reason that Dublin is one of the world's most famous - and most visited - cities. In fact, it's with several good reasons: the wide array of things to do in Dublin ticks every traveller's boxes. There's the Irish capital's rich history and culture, its literature and music.
TV and Video
Funny Shorts
"Death really isn't a good subject for a Valentine's card," says Ruth Turner, Hallmark's head of editorial. "And we would never do anything gun-related for obvious reasons." I'm at Hallmark House, a vast and impressive art-deco building in rural West Yorkshire.