Michael Portillo

   Michael Portillo    Michael Denzil Xavier Portillo is a British journalist, broadcaster, and former Conservative Party politician and Cabinet Minister.
 * Born: 26 May 1953 (age 62)
 * Political party: None, formerly conservative
 * Occupation: journalist broadcaster and former Conservative Party politician and Cabinet Minister
 * Alma mater: Peterhouse, Cambridge
 * Home town: Bushey, Hertfordshire, England, UK
 * Spouse: Carolyn Eadie (1982–present)

Bio
Portillo was first elected to the House of Commons in a by-election in 1984; a strong admirer of Margaret Thatcher, and a Eurosceptic, Portillo served as a junior minister under both Thatcher and John Major, before entering the cabinet in 1992. A "darling of the right", he was seen as a likely challenger to Major during the 1995 Conservative leadership election, but stayed loyal. As Defence Secretary, he pressed for a purist Thatcherite course of "clear blue water", separating the policies of the Conservatives from Labour.

He was the host of Great British Railway Journeys.

He was supposed to choose which engine would receive the Really Useful Award, but instead he chose Beyonce. This caused a bedlam.

Series 1

 * The Really Useful Award