My wild life - Simon Cowell

The true, heart-warming story of how a reluctant City trader left a life of champagne and bonuses to follow his dream of rescuing animals and setting up a wildlife sanctuary.

Simon Cowell always wanted to be a vet. Instead, he ended up as a wealthy commodities trader. But with a love of nature and animals, he could never quite subscribe to the 'greed is good' mantra which rang out through the trading halls of the City of London.

While his colleagues quaffed champagne and blew their bonuses on designer gear, Simon set up a wildlife sanctuary in the grounds of his stockbroker belt home. At 42, having suffered two nervous breakdowns, he finally left his job. That's when his life began.

My Wild Life is the story of his remarkable journey from reluctant City gent to environmental crusader, meeting some of the cute and cuddly creatures that have touched his heart along the way.

Often hilarious, sometimes harrowing and always insightful, Simon's story is one man's life-long mission to redress the damage man has done to the environment - with boozing, a divorce and some bad behaviour along the way.