Jeffrey Archer appointed Ambassador for Somerset

He's one of the world's best-selling authors - but now Jeffrey Archer has been recruited as the new ambassador for his home county of Somerset.

He was one of the most controversial politicians of his generation.The man from Weston-super-Mare became an MP in the East of England in 1969.

Aged 29 he claimed wrongly to be the youngest ever MP - but by the mid 70s he'd quit politics and turned to writing to save himself from bankruptcy after a business deal went wrong.

A decade later though, his first political come back was underway when he was appointed Conservative deputy chair by Margaret Thatcher.

But he was soon out of power again after successfully defending newspaper accusations that he used a prostitute.

And by the 1990s a change in title - John Major made him Baron Archer of Weston-super-Mare.

But that didn't mean a holiday from the headlines. He was jailed for perjury in 2001 after it was proved he'd lied in court about those accusations of using a prostitute in the 1980s. That ended his political career.

The prolific writer, whose hits include Kane and Abel, Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less and The Clifton Chronicles, has strong links with Somerset. He grew up in Weston-Super-Mare and attended Wellington School.

So, what does the man himself make of his new role as ambassador for Somerset and how will he be promoting the county around the world?Daisy Gray has been finding out: