Brett Ellis volunteers every Thursday to spend his evening in a small studio hidden in the depths of the hospital from where he entertains patients.

His interviewees have ranged from Ann Widdecombe to Peter Stringfellow, and Mr Ellis, of High Street, Potters Bar, has been known to be economical with the truth in order to snare his well-known guests.

He said: "As soon as you say it's hospital radio, people just do not want to know. All they are interested in is publicity and you do not get a lot of that with a hospital station. So I say Radio Barnet.

"I am not exactly lying. Any station is as good as its output and that goes for a hospital station too, so I want to produce good interviews."

In the three years that he has been at the hospital, he always insists on a live broadcast. "I love the edge of a live interview," he said. "You get what you hear. I enjoy the challenge and the fact that there is no hiding place."

But this has led to a few problems. "Paul Gascoigne was my worst interview experience. I was a massive fan, so it was a real shame. Basically he just stormed off ten seconds before we were due to go on air. It really left me in the lurch."

Uri Geller was apparently less than gracious too. "After the interview, he swore at me and told me to go away in no uncertain terms."

An interest in politics is what first drew Mr Ellis, 32, to becoming a radio host, and it is politicians that he is still most keen to grill.

"A few years ago, I had no qualifications and was working in a really poorly paid job," he said.

"I would watch the news and want to ask politicians the questions I wanted answered."

A particular highlight was interviewing Michael Howard before the elections in May. "I had been trying to line him up for a long time," he said. "Then his mother came into the hospital.

"So when I rang him and said Radio Barnet, he was happy to do it. The great thing was he was very complimentary about the treatment his mother was getting.

"This was despite the fact that he had been very negative about the NHS in general."

Mr Ellis, a business studies teacher at London Academy, Edgware, considers himself an everyman who asks what the average person wants to know. Despite having no formal training, he has a method to his interviewing procedure.

"I start off with leading questions, then the nitty-gritty, which is just the main subject matter, and then I come in with the killer question, which is the shock question. This always comes in the last few minutes, because if I ask it too early on, people can clam up for the rest of the interview."

He is aware that some perceive him as an amateur, but this has not made him shy away from exploring sensitive issues and approaching controversial people. British National Party leader Nick Griffin, who is from Barnet, agreed to speak with Mr Ellis.

"I thought I was just going to despise him, but he was very well spoken it took me by surprise. I asked him a question that threw him, though. I asked him about the alleged gay affair he had with the former National Front leader Martin Webster. He got very agitated. The whole manifesto was very wishy-washy with vague points."

There have been a few embarrassing moments too. "I was interviewing Kenny Baker, who plays R2-D2 in the Star Wars films, and I had read he was married. So I asked him how it felt to be a happily married man and he said, Well I was until my wife died in 1989'.

"He was great though. I asked him about his rivalry with Anthony Daniels, who plays C-3P0, and he said, I hate the man'."

Mr Ellis has had his fair share of famous people gracing the hospital airwaves, and there are a few that have made a lasting impression. He said: "Dave Prowse, who played Darth Vadar, was a nice bloke and really interesting. Ann Widdecombe now she was quite feisty and did not take kindly to being asked about her personal life.

"Peter Stringfellow was very nice too, a real character. I asked him why he still has that mullet haircut and he said he had based it on The Beatles in the 1960s and women still seem to like it. He also said his classic chat up line, Hi, I am Peter Stringfellow this is my club', still works."

Mr Ellis hopes to attract more big names. "I love Jeremy Paxman and I know this is only hospital radio, but I do like a challenge. Christine Hamilton, Hillary Benn and David Soul all said that I gave a good interview. Ideal people in the future would be Liam Gallagher, Tony Blair, Margaret Thatcher and Paul McCartney."

Barnet Hospital Radio has been running since 1978 and is always keen for more volunteers. There is usually a show from 5pm to 10.30pm, Monday to Friday, and all day on Saturday and Sunday. As well as hosting his radio show, Mr Ellis is in charge of training and recruitment for the station.

"Do not worry if you do not want to be the next Chris Moyles, as you do not have to be a presenter to volunteer," he said. "Another aspect is going around the wards collecting requests and helping us to fund-raise."

If you are interested in helping the station, you can contact Mr Ellis by sending an email to brett@hrb.org.uk.