I n my early twenties, my best friend was a tall, clumsy genius called Douglas Adams.
In 1978, he had got stuck writing the first series for BBC Radio 4 of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and asked me to help him finish it.
We'd written together often before – so I said yes.
‘I don't suppose there'll be a second series, Johnny,’ he said, ‘but, if there is, let's do it together.’
It had taken Douglas 10 months to write the first four scripts, but we polished off the last two in three weeks.
The series was an instant success and, before it had even finished going out, we'd been invited to lunch by
