A Matter of Life and Death - Tapa dura

Ronni Ancona is fed up with football: the way it dominates TV, takes over men's brains and scuppers any chance of romance. And so, for the sake of women everywhere, Ronni concocts an experiment to see if a man can be made to give up the very thing he claims he cannot live without. But who would agree to be Ronni's guinea-pig? Surely not her ex-boyfriend, Alistair McGowan, who has devoted much of his life to the game, from a childhood obsession with kicking a ball about to an adult addiction to Ceefax football pages and an unhealthy interest in attendances? Over the course of a year, we follow TV's best-known male/female double act in a hilarious battle of the sexes. Using replacement techniques - walks, culture and endless rounds of toast and Marmite - Ronni does all she can to distract her former boyfriend during these early months of withdrawal. But what happens when a man gives up the thing he loves most? And after being 'clean' for the whole summer, will the lure of a new season break his resolve? Part memoir of a football addict, part comedy self-help manual, A Matter of Life and Death is a brilliant, banter-fuelled book about the differences between men and women.

Alistair is best known to audiences for The Big Impression which was one of BBC1's top-rating comedy programmes - winning numerous awards, including a BAFTA in 2003. Ronni Ancona was the joint winner, with Alistair for their work on The Big Impression and was named Best Actress at The British Comedy Awards in 2003. Ronni lives in London with her husband and two daughters.