Bryan Appleyard is a writer for The Sunday Times. Not only one of Britain’s best-known journalists, he is also a prolific author, and in both capacities he manages to get underneath people’s skin.

How did you get started in journalism?

I took a very traditional route into journalism, training on a local newspaper, the Wimbledon News, and then working as a reporter for United Newspapers before joining The Times’ financial desk in the late 1970s. I congratulate myself on being born at exactly the right time to be a journalist. I think it is harder now.

The Times’ Business News at that time was pure fun, it was a brilliant section and I worked alongside some marvellous journalists; Andrew Goodrick-Clarke was Financial Editor, Hugh Stephenson was Business News Editor and Bill Bryson was one of my sub-editors.

You then moved from The Times’ Finance News Editor to Deputy Arts Editor, what promoted the change?

I had been on Business News for three years and although I enjoyed it, it wasn’t really me.

Harry Evans [Editor of The Times between 1981 and 1982] arrived like a hurricane and I soon discovered from other colleagues that if you wanted a particular job, you could walk right in to his office to ask him for it and the chances were that you’d be successful. The catch was that he would always offer you another less desirable role, alongside the one you wanted, knowing you wouldn’t be able to refuse. So I went to see him to ask if I could be Deputy Arts Editor and he agreed on the condition that I would be Night News Editor as well…all I could say was “Of course, Harry”.

You have been freelance since the early 1980s, how do you balance your work for The Sunday Times with other writing commitments?

Yes, I work primarily for The Sunday Times but I also occasionally write for magazines and I write books as well. It can be a challenge to juggle the different deadlines but that is the life of a freelancer. The upside is that I am never doing the same thing over and over again and I am never bored and that is what I enjoy so much about journalism.

How do you choose what to write about?

I will suggest stories and the paper will suggest stories, generally speaking they know what I like and they know what I do well.

What is your average working day like?

I work from home and I like to start early. I am online by 6 a.m. reading the news around science, politics and the Arts. If I am writing something I try to get a substantial amount of it done by 9 a.m. to be able to then put it aside for a day.

The rest of the day is spent catching up on emails, arranging to meet people, transcribing interviews and enormous amount of reading. I am always juggling a few things at once and no two days are the same.

Who is your favourite person you have interviewed?

I have enjoyed interviewing Tom Jones, Bill Gates, Joni Mitchell and Monica Bellucci. But I do not think that journalists can pass a serious judgement about a person on the basis of a one hour interview. My primary job is to introduce a person who has done something noteworthy to readers. You try your best to give an honest picture of someone, the good and the bad, but it’s not for me to pass judgement. Most interviewees surprise me and I almost always like them more by the end of the interview.

What are your three top tips for rookies?

Follow Bryan on Twitter @BryanAppleyard.