A question of taste - Chris Donoghue, Newstalk Breakfast presenter

Chris Donoghue co-presents Newstalk Breakfast from 7am to 10am. He is an ambassador for First Fortnight, a charity aimed at challenging mental health stigma, and will speak at Proclamation, a music and talk event on New Year’s Day in Christ Church Cathedral, as part of First Fortnight festival in association with NYF Dublin. NYF Dublin’s three-day citywide festival spans the new year period from today until January 1. See www.NYFDublin.com 

Best recent book: I enjoyed We Are the Young Men from Rob Doyle, a guy who went to the same school as me, I’m looking forward to his follow-up in 2016. The best book I read this year was Alan Cumming’s memoir, Not My Father’s Son.

Best recent film: It’s an old one but a good one, I saw The Omen for the first time this year at Halloween. Spectre was good in the cinemas but a bit forgettable too.

Best recent show/exhibition/gig you’ve seen: I love live comedy (when its bad, it’s awful) I recently saw Colm O’Regan and Colum McDonnell, both excellent. I also enjoyed an art exhibition in October from a talented painter friend, Sergey Talichkin.

What formats do you access music?

Spotify on my phone and vinyl harvested from hours in record shops, from one extreme to another.

Best piece of music you’ve been listening to lately (new or old):

A friend who emigrated this year gifted me piles of vinyl. Lots of it from the 80s. I’ve been listening to loads of old Bowie this month as a result.

First ever piece of music or art or film that really moved you:

I saw the Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time in New York in March and I thought it was brilliantly translated to the stage. I really liked that book when I was younger.

Tell us about your TV viewing:

I watch very little live TV, I’m never home. The news is the most watched TV programme in my house.

Radio listening:

Newstalk 24-7 of course. There is another channel called RTÉ, it can be quite good at times.

Name three of your entertainment heroes:

Wogan, Norton and Winfrey — no question.

Your best celebrity encounter:

I once linked Roger Moore’s arm and helped him down the stairs in a theatre; he’d hurt his knee. He joked it was from praying.

Most expensive item of clothing you’ve ever bought — what was it and how much:

A Hugo Boss suit which was two sizes too big and made me look like a pimp. The salesman could have sold sand to the Saudis. I can’t remember how much it cost, but it was too much.

Tech habits — what you use, and what you use it for:

iPhone — I use it too much for everything and I can’t remember passwords anymore. I use Apple TV a good bit too to binge on Netflix.

Unsung hero — individual, organisation or group you think don’t get the profile/praise they deserve:

Hospital staff. Lots of bad things happen around health policy and they overshadow the wonderful things that happen in healthcare. The stories are too personal but I’ve seen hospital staff from cleaners to nurses do wonderful things for people I care about this year.

You are king for a day — what’s your first decree?

No phones, social media, texts or instant messaging — talk to each other in person and see how we get on.