Sporting Chancer : One Man's Journey to Take On the World

Ed Hawkins grew up around gambling. Instead of going to school, he followed his father, a horseracing journalist, around the courses of the UK.

From an early age he learnt that bookies never give anything away.

So when he lost a misguided gamble on his career, he doubled up on reflex - deciding to wager his way around the globe.

Initially gambling his way across Australia, he meets triumph and disaster at one of the world's biggest casinos with witty self-deprecation.

He embarrasses himself playing poker with Hollywood's finest at the World Series in Las Vegas, challenges world champion Phil Taylor to a game of darts, fights roosters with Britney Spears' babysitter and fleeces pensioners on planes.

Hawkins tries anything to stay afloat, ending up in a Glasgow bingo hall hoping to land the same long odds that stare back at him from the mirror, having been diagnosed with a rare illness.