Britain’s oddest odds

I joined the press office at bookies William Hill in the mid-1970s with one brief: ‘Get us as much publicity as possible – outside horse racing.’ My long-term strategy was to target the time of year when the newspapers, television and radio had their largest audiences of the year – Christmas.

I’d do it by offering bets about the major talking points of the festive seasons, things that got people talking and the media speculating. Would there be a white Christmas? If not, would it rain? What would be the most-watched TV programme on Christmas Day? Who would have the year’s biggest Christmas chart hit? I specified that the